his own person, independent--just the way he liked it.
Overhead, the glowpanels flickered intermittently; those at the far end of
the corridor had completely burned out. A skittering sound in the ceiling
ducts signaled the passage of a large and clumsy rodent. Ahead he heard
another rustling sound, something even bigger.
Zekk looked up with a gasp to see a tall figure, darker than the inky
shadows, step out in front of him. "Well, what have we here?" a syrupy voice
said, deep and powerful.
The figure stepped closer, and Zekk could see a tall woman with eyes that
flashed a burning violet. She wore a glittering black cloak with shoulder
spines like defensive armor. Long black hair flowed around her like
wire-thin snakes. Her skin was pale, her lips a deep crimson. She tried to
smile, but the expression looked foreign on her face.
"Greetings, young sir," she said, her voice oozing persuasion. "I require a
moment of your time." When she stepped more fully into the light, Zekk
noticed that the woman walked with a pronounced limp.
"I don't think so,'' he said, backing up and turning around just as two
sinister figures emerged from the side corridors: a compact woman with light
brown skin and wavy bronze hair and a shadow-faced young man with dark bushy
eyebrows.
"Just one moment of your time, boy. Vilas and Garowyn here will make sure
you don't do anything foolish," the dangerous-looking woman said. She limped
closer to him. "I am Tamith Kai, and we need to perform a test on you. It
won't hurt a bit." Zekk thought he detected a tone of disappointment in her
voice.
The young man Vilas and the short, bronze-haired woman grabbed him from
behind. Instantly, Zekk struggled, thrashing and shouting out loud. The
strangers didn't seem bothered by how much noise he made, and Zekk knew with
a sinking certainty that cries for help were not at all uncommon in these
abandoned levels, although brave rescuers were. Zekk tried to yank his arms
free from the claw-like grasp of his captors, but to no avail.
Tamith Kai withdrew a strange device from the black folds of her cape.
Unraveling wires connected to a pair of flat crystalline paddles, she
switched on an additional power grid. A high-pitched hum vibrated through
the machine case.
"Leave me alone!" Zekk lashed backward with his foot, hoping to deliver a
sharp blow to sensitive shins.
"Be careful," Tamith Kai said to her colleagues with a meaningful scowl.
"Some of them can be dangerous when they kick." She leaned closer and waved
the humming crystal paddles around his body, scanning him.
His heart pounding with fear, Zekk gritted his teeth and squeezed his
emerald eyes shut. To his surprise, he felt no tingling energy; no burning
analytical beam sliced through his skin.
Tamith Kai withdrew, and Garowyn and Vilas leaned over Zekk's bony shoulders
to observe the readings. Still struggling, Zekk caught a glimpse of the
glowing image, a colorful aura projected in a micro-hologram.
"Hmmm, surprising," Tamith Kai said. "Look at the power he has."
"A good find," Garowyn agreed. "Quite fortunate."
"Not fortunate for me!" Zekk snapped. "What do you want?"
"You'll be coming with us," Tamith Kai said. Her tone was filled with
confidence, as if she didn't care about his objections.
"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Zekk shouted. "No matter what you found,
I won't--"
"Oh, just stun him," Tamith Kai said impatiently, turning about on her stiff
leg and limping back down the shadow-shrouded corridor. "He'll be easier to
carry that way."
Vilas released his grip on the boy's arms, and Zekk tried to run, knowing
this was his last chance . . . but arcs of blue fire looped out, engulfing
him and slamming him down into unconsciousness.
* 9 *
JAINA STARED MOROSELY at her brothers.
from seeing the Karnak Alpha ambassador to her quarters. She hoped Leia
wasn't too upset with Zekk.
Jacen paced the living area, muttering to himself. "Blaster bolts!" he said
with a dramatic gesture. "Can you believe Zekk thinking the bouquet was a
salad? It's a good thing Tenel Ka was there to head off that other problem.
We still probably made a terrible impression on the ambassador."
"I don't think it turned out so badly," Anakin said from where he sat on a
large cushion near the door. "Mom will handle it. You'll see."
Jaina groaned. "Zekk probably feels terrible."
"We'll see him in the morning," Jacen said, when we help him look for that
central multitasking unit. We can apologize to him then."
The door to their quarters swished open and Leia walked in wearing a bemused
expression. After a moment of anxious silence, all three of her children
spoke at once.
"I'm sorry, Mom. It's all my fault," Jaina blurted.
"Was the ambassador very angry?" Jacen asked.
"Where's Dad?" Anakin said.
The barrage of questions snapped Leia out of her daze. "Nothing to be sorry
for, Jaina," she said, giving her daughter a hug. "The ambassador says I've
got three wonderful children, and they have charming friends." She stooped
to smooth back Anakin's straight dark hair. "And to answer your question,
your father had begun discussing hyperspace trade routes to Karnak Alpha
with the ambassador, and decided to stay for some business that was even
more important."
Jaina blinked in surprise at this unexpected turn of events and sat down at
one end of a long, cushioned repulsorseat. Leia sat down beside her, and
Jacen settled next to his mother on the other end of the seat. Leia adjusted
the repulsorseat's controls to a gentle rocking motion. Anakin dragged his
floor cushion over to sit beside them, quiet and attentive.
Leia smiled down at her children. "The ambassador was certainly impressed by
the number of young people we had invited to meet her at the dinner. She
also said that any adult who was willing to break with her own social
traditions just to make a child feel more comfortable should have no problem
negotiating an alliance with Karnak Alpha. I'm glad you twins were here with
us, rather than at the Jedi academy."
"That's great, Mom," said Jaina, snuggling deeper into the cushions.
"I learned something very important about myself tonight," Leia continued.
"As your father and I walked the ambassador and her children back to their
quarters, I realized that my kids were more important to me than any
ambassador. When we got to their quarters, the ambassador said she was ready
to discuss her planet's alliance with the New Republic . That's when I
amazed even myself. I said I'd be happy to talk with her about it in the
morning--but that for right now I needed to be with my children."
Jaina gave a low whistle. Her mother was always so wrapped up in her duties
as Chief of State, such a response seemed inconceivable. "You didn't!"
Leia chuckled. "Yes I did, and you know what she said?" She sounded a bit
surprised. "She said in that case she no longer had any doubts
that we could
form an alliance. Everything is all set."
"If everything's all set, why didn't Dad come back with you?" Anakin asked.
"What other important business was there?"
"He offered to stay behind," Leia said, raising her eyebrows, "and tell the
ambassadors children one of your favorite bedtime stories. Can you guess
which one?"
Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin all murmured in unison, "The Little Lost Bantha
Cub."
"Then you'll have to tell us a story, too, Mom," Anakin said in a sleepy
voice.
So she did.
* 10 *
THE NEXT MORNING, as they found their way through the streets, Jacen had an
uneasy prickly feeling at the back of his neck, as if a trail of mermyns
were crawling along his skin. Something felt wrong, but he couldn't quite
put his finger on what it was. "Blaster bolts," he muttered.
For some reason they all seemed a bit jumpy today. Jaina had taken the lead,
since she was most familiar with the way to Zekk's quarters. Jacen, on the
other hand, always got lost. Tenel Ka followed Jaina in silence, her
shoulders squared, her back rigid, while Jacen and Lowie brought up the
rear.
They trooped through the ancient cramped alleyways of metal and stone. The
lights were too dim in this area, and the air tasted of rusting metal and
decay. Even the odors were unfamiliar and, to Wookiees at least-judging by
the wrinkling of Lowie's nose--none too pleasant.
"Here we are," Jaina said, rounding a sharp corner into an even narrower
passageway. She stopped at a low doorway and pressed the signal button. The
indicator light flashed red, denying them access. Jaina bit her lower lip.
"That's strange. Zekk said yesterday that he'd clear us for access."
"Perhaps he is more upset than we expected," Tenel Ka suggested.
"Maybe," Jaina agreed, "but not likely. Zekk doesn't break promises. We've
had disagreements before, but . . ." Her voice trailed off.
When Lowbacca rumbled a comment, Em Teedee translated. "Master Lowbacca
wonders if Master Zekk might not simply have stepped out for a morning
constitutional. Or perhaps he decided to procure comestibles for morning
meal."
"Yeah, that would be better than those stormtrooper rations he gave us last
time," Jacen pointed out, feeling his stomach gurgle with distaste at the
thought.
"He knew we were coming," Jaina said. "He should have been here."
"Let's wait for a while," Jacen suggested, sitting with crossed legs on the
floor. "He'll probably turn up in a few minutes with some wild story."
"That would be just like him," Jaina agreed.
Jacen, knowing his sister was still worried, tried to sound as confident as
possible. "He'll be back any minute-you'll see. In the meantime," he
suggested brightly, "I've got some new jokes, if anybody wants to hear
them."
The twins entertained the other young Jedi Knights with stories of Zekk's
past adventures. Jacen told about the time Zekk climbed forty-two stories
down an abandoned turbolift shaft because he saw something glittery and
reflective by the glow of his pulsed-laser spotlight. Imagining treasures
that grew more and more extravagant with each level he descended, Zekk
discovered in the end that the shining object was merely a discarded foil
wrapping stuck to the ooze dripping along the shaft wall.
Jaina shared a story about how Zekk reprogrammed a personal translating
device for a group of snide reptilian tourists who had shoved him out of
line for free samples of a new food product. Zekk changed their translator
so that every time the reptilian tourists asked for directions to eating
establishments or museums, they were instead guided to seedy gambling
parlors or garbage-reprocessing stations.
"How simply dreadful!" Em Teedee commented.
Minutes crept by and became an hour, and still their friend did not return.
At last Jaina stood. "Something's wrong," she said, biting her lower lip.
"Zekk's not coming."
Lowie growled and Em Teedee translated, "Master Lowbacca suggests that
perhaps Master Zekk requires a certain amount of time to overcome his
embarrassment. I don't suppose I'll ever understand human behavior," he
added.
"Maybe," Jaina said, her face troubled and unconvinced.
"Hey, why don't we leave a videonote, Jacen suggested. "We'll try again
tomorrow. How long can he stay mad at us?"
But the next day Zekk was still nowhere to be found. Jacen pressed the
access request button beside Zekk's front door, but again there was no
response. Old Peckhum would be returning from the mirror station soon, and
he would come home to an empty apartment.
"I think it's time to start looking for Zekk," Jacen said, staring at the
blank infopanel.
"Agreed," Tenel Ka said.
"Well then," Jaina said, rubbing her hands together briskly, "what are we
waiting for? And if we still can't find him, we'll talk to Mom."
Leia Organa Solo seemed preoccupied and concerned as they entered her
private office. Leia smiled at them and brushed a stray hair out of Jaina's
eyes. "I'm glad you're here, kids. I wanted to show you something."
Before Jacen or Jaina could tell her about Zekk, Leia played a grainy
long-range videoclip that showed Imperial attack vessels striking a New
Republic military supply cruiser in space near Coruscant.
"That looks like the ship that kidnapped us from Lando's GemDiver Station!"
Jaina cried. Lowbacca growled in agreement.
Leia nodded. "I thought so, from your description--and now I can confirm it
to Admiral Ackbar This attack came two nights ago. We may have a real threat
on our hands, right here on the capital world."
Jaina watched the videoclip again and frowned. "Something else isn't right
about those images. I'm trying to figure out what. . . ."
Leia returned to her desk. "Admiral Ackbar and a handful of tactical experts
are analyzing the footage, and they might want to ask you some questions.
We're stepping up security against the very real possibility that we may see
another Imperial attack."
After that news, when Jacen poured out the story of Zekk's disappearance,
Leia didn't seem overly concerned. She let her gaze drift across all four of
the young Jedi Knights standing in her office. "All right, let me ask you
this: Who knows the city better, the four of you . . . or Zekk?"
"Well, Zekk does," Jacen answered in a hesitant voice. "But-"
"And if Zekk is upset and hiding somewhere," Leia continued, "is it any
wonder that you haven't been able to find him?"
"But he wouldn't do that," Jaina objected. "He promised us."
"Well then," Leia said in a calm, reasonable voice, "maybe he's found that
central multitasking unit already and Peckhum shuttled him up to the mirror
station."
"But he would have left us a message." Jaina set her mouth in a stubborn
line.
"She's right, Mom," Jacen spoke up. "Zekk may seem like a scamp, but he
always does what he says he's going to do."
Leia swept her children with a skeptical look. "How many years have we known
&nb
sp; Zekk?"
Jaina shrugged. "About five, but what-"
"And in those years," Leia went on, "how many times has he just disappeared
on some adventure, only to reappear about a month later?"
Jacen cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably. "Um, maybe half a dozen
times."
"There. You see?" Leia said, as if that closed the matter.
"But those other times," Jacen pointed out, we didn't have plans to spend
the day with him."
Leia sighed. "And those other times he wasn't upset over an embarrassing
diplomatic dinner, either. Look, he's older than you are, and legally he can
come and go as he pleases. But even if we knew for certain that he was
missing--which we don't--there's very little we could do about it. The
galaxy is a big place. Who knows where he might be?''
"People turn up missing all the time, and we simply don't have the resources
to look for everybody. Just this week I've had reports of at least three
other teenagers missing in Imperial City alone. Why don't you wait and talk
to Peckhum when he gets back tomorrow? Maybe he'll have some ideas." She
herded them out of the room so she could get back to work. "Right now I've
got to get ready for my next meeting with the Karnak Alphan ambassador. And