began. Luke mounted the steps to the wide raised platform, closely
followed by a slender woman with flowing silvery-white hair and huge
opalescent eyes.
"Thank you for gathering here on such short notice," Luke began. "I
received news this morning of a pressing matter that calls me away."
As if from a pebble tossed into a pond, a series of surprised murmurs
rippled through the room. Jacen wondered if his uncle's imminent
departure had anything to do with the messages brought by his father on
the Falcon.
The blue eyes that looked out over the audience-kind eyes that seemed
wise beyond their years-gave no hint of what the Jedi Master's mission
might be.
"I don't know how long I will be gone, so I've asked one of my former
students, the Jedi Tionne"-he gestured to the slender, shimmering-eyed
woman beside him-"to supervise your training while I'm away. Not only
does Tionne know my teachings almost as well as I do, but she has a rich
knowledge of Jedi lore and history. As you are about to find out, she's
well worth listening to."
This intrigued Jacen. He remembered hearing that she was not a
particularly strong Jedi, but from the warm smile that passed between
Luke and Tionne, he could tell that they understood each other well, and
that Master Skywalker must have complete trust in his former student.
As Luke withdrew from the platform, leaving the students alone with
Tionne, the silver haired Jedi retrieved a curiously shaped stringed
instrument from somewhere behind her. It consisted of two resonating
boxes, one at either end of a slender fretted neck. The strings
stretching across the instrument flared out in a fan pattern at both
ends.
Seating herself on a low stool, Tionne began to strum. "I will tell you
about a Jedi Master who lived long ago," she said. "This is the ballad
of Master Vodo-Siosk Baas."
As she began to sing, Jacen agreed with his uncle: Tionne was indeed
worth listening to.
Her song rang clear and true. Its pure tones carried easily to the
farthest corners of the great hall and transported them all to a time
they had never witnessed. The music flowed around them, sweeping them
along on currents of excitement and courage and triumph and sacrifice.
She sang of dire events that had taken place four thousand years
earlier-how the strange, alien Jedi Master had been destroyed by Exar
Kun, one of his own students who had turned to the dark side. Master
Vodo had begged the other Jedi Masters not to do battle with Exar Kun,
and had tried to reason with him alone-though his gentle hopes had ended
in tragedy.
In the silence that followed her song, a flood of insight washed through
Jacen as he realized that this Jedi was worth listening to for more than
just her voice.
Tionne stood, to a collective sigh from everyone present. Jacen hadn't
even realized he'd been holding his breath.
"I trust my first lesson to you hasn't been too painful," she said with
a merry twinkle in her pearly eyes. "Tomorrow I will give another
lesson, after morning meal."
With that, the evening meeting ended.
Some listeners remained seated, transfixed, as if trying to absorb the
last trickles of music lingering in the room. Others left singly or in
whispering groups, while still others stayed behind to talk with Tionne.
Jacen, Jaina, Tenel Ka, and Lowbacca found themselves free at last to
talk. They huddled together and discussed Lowie's find.
Em Teedee-carefully modulating his voice to an appropriate, secretive
level-provided translations.
They speculated by turns about the strange glinting object that Lowbacca
had seen out in the jungle. They came to only one conclusion: at the
earliest possible opportunity, they would go out together and
investigate.
Tionne's morning ballad fell in a fine musical mist, drenching its
with his brandy-colored eyes closed, concentrating on her words, trying
to absorb everything the music had to teach him. It was just as well
that his eyes were shut, since his view was completely blocked by the
colorful bulk of Raynar wearing his finest robes.
As the last notes drained away, Jacen opened his eyes to find his sister
staring at him in silent amusement. Neither Lowbacca nor Tenel Ka, who
sat beside him, gave any indication that they had noticed Jacen's
apparent absorption in the music. Then Tionne spoke, drawing Jacen's
attention back to the silver-haired Jedi on the raised platform.
"A Jedi's greatest power comes not from size or from physical strength,"
she said. "It comes from understanding the Force-from trusting in the
Force. As part of your Jedi training you will learn to build your
confidence and belief through practice. Without that practice we may
not succeed when it is most important. This is true of many skills in
life. Listen to a story.
"Once, a young girl lived by a lake. Simply by watching others, she
learned much about how to swim. One day when her family was busy, the
girl jumped into the deep water.
Although she moved her arms and legs as she had seen other swimmers do,
she could not keep her head above the water.
"Fortunately a fisherwoman jumped in and rescued her. The woman, a
practiced swimmer, had not needed to think about how to swim, but the
little girl-who had only learned by watching-did not have the skill even
to stay afloat. After they were safely out of the water, the fisherwoman
took the girl's hand and said, 'Come to the shallows, child, and I will
teach you to swim."' Tionne paused as if lost in thought, her pearly
eyes glittering. "So it is with the Force.
Unless we practice what we learn, and unless we are tested, we never
know we can trust in the Force if the need arises. That is why this
Jedi academy is also called a praxeum. It is a place where we not only
learn, but we put the learning to use. As with swimming, the more we
practice, the more confidence we have. Eventually, our skill becomes
second nature.
"The next several days I would like the beginning and intermediate
students to practice one of the most basic skills: using the Force to
lift. For today, practice lifting only something small-no bigger than a
leaf."
Raynar interrupted in a blustery voice, "How can you expect us to
strengthen our skills if you take us back to a child's level?"
Jacen rolled his eyes at Raynar's rudeness, but he had to admit that he
had been wondering the same thing.
Tionne smiled down at Raynar without annoyance. "A good question.
Let me give you an example. If you wanted to strengthen your arms, you
might lift many stones one time, or you mig t i one stone many times.
It is the same with your Jedi skills. For today, practice just as I
have asked you. It is not the only way to strengthen your skills, but
it is one way. There are always alternatives. I promise you will learn
more than just how to lift a leaf."
Tionne dismissed the students. As they left the grand audience chamber
and started down the worn stone stairs, Jaina pulled the other three
young Jedi to a halt, her eyes dancing. "Are you thinking what I'm
thinking?" she asked.
Jacen, who did not know what she was thinking, nonetheless sensed her
excitement and her eagerness to investigate Lowie's mysterious
discovery.
Jaina shrugged. "What better place to practice lifting leaves than out
in a jungle?"
------------------I
"YOU SURE THIS seat is safe?" Jacen asked as he squeezed himself into
the cargo well behind the T-23s passenger seat.
"Of course it is," his sister replied automatically as she climbed into
the front. "You like crawling into cramped spaces anyway."
"Only to catch bugs," he grumbled. "There's no cushioning back here."
The cargo well was much too small to accommodate Tenel Ka, who was
taller and more solidly built than either of the twins.
Jacen would have to settle for the back or be left behind; his sister
would take her turn there on the return trip. He squirmed and settled
in as the T-23s engines started with a roaring purr.
Lowie called a command over the sound of the warming repulsorlifts. Em
Teedee said, "Master Lowbacca requests that you please be certain that
your restraints are secure. He is interested in your utmost safety. We
shall be departing momentarily."
Lowbacca's voice barked out again, and the droid amended his
translation. "Actually, Master Lowbacca might have said something
closer to, 'Hold on, everyone. Here we go!"' "Oh, blaster bolts. No
crash straps either," Jacen observed as Jaina and Tenel Ka buckled
themselves in up front.
The rebuilt T-23 lifted off with a small jerk.
The wind howled past the rattling window plates as they picked up height
and speed.
Jacen felt the thrill of being airborne as the ion afterburners
spluttered behind them.
Even cramped in the back, he was glad he hadn't stayed behind.
Jacen looked out through the scratched port as Lowbacca let the
skyhopper skim just above the treetops, ar-rowing away from the Jedi
academy into unexplored territory. Soon there were nothing but trees as
far as Jacen could see through the scratched port, as lush and green as
the sky above him was blue.
Though he enjoyed the lovely foliage below him, Jacen's legs began to
cramp. By the time the T-23 dove down and came to rest in a small
clearing, he could feel the engine vibrations all the way to his teeth.
Up front, Jaina and Tenel Ka unbuckled their restraints and scrambled
nimbly out of the T-23. Jacen dragged himself from the cargo well,
stretching his stiff legs as he stepped out into the tangled underbrush.
He rubbed the seat of his jumpsuit with both hands to get the
circulation going again. "I think a leaf is about all I could lift
right now!"
Lowie rushed to the edge of the clearing, beckoning the others. "Master
Lowbacca says the tree holding the artifact is over here," Em Teedee
called. "It has several broken branches, so he was able to locate it
easily from the air."
Jaina looked in the direction that Lowbacca was pointing. "Well, what
are we waiting for?" she said. Tenel Ka marched over to the young
Wookiee, as if ready to carve a path through the jungle. Jacen took a
long and wistful look at all the strange new plants he saw around him,
but followed the others into the deep green shadows.
Lowbacca gestured up into the distant branches of an enormous Massassi
tree. The trunk seemed as big around as one of the skyscrapers on
city-covered Cor-uscant, and even the lowest branches were well out of
Jacen's reach. But Lowie wanted them to climb up after him!
"oh," said Jaina, a crestfallen look on her face, "I wouldn't get very
far climbing that."
Lowbacca assured them, via Em Teedee, that the climb would be easy for a
Wookiee.
He offered to go up alone for the first investigation and report his
findings so they could decide the next step.
"We can explore down here," Jacen suggested. "We might find some other
pieces of . . . of whatever it is." Or maybe some interesting animals
or fungus or insects, he thought hopefully.
Jaina and Tenel Ka readily agreed. Lowbacca swiped a hairy hand along
the thick black streak that ran through the fur above his left eyebrow.
He swarmed up the trunk, swung into the lower branches, and soon
disappeared from sight.
Jacen's stomach rumbled with hunger, and he hoped that Lowbacca would
hurry. The three young Jedi trainees poked around in the underbrush,
spiraling out from the T-23 in a wandering search pattern. Taking
turns, they practiced their leaf-lifting assignment, fluttering leaves
in the shrubbery, lifting dr-y forest debris from the damp and mossy
ground.
Before long, Lowbacca came crashing back down through the thick
branches. He dropped to the ground near them and let out a loud Wookiee
cry.
Jaina ran toward him, eager and interested. "Did you find it, Lowie?"
Lowbacca nodded vigorously.
"What was it?" Jaina asked. "Can you describe it?"
"Master Lowbacca believes it to be some sort of solar panel," Em Teedee
translated as the Wookiee replied. Then the droid launc into a complete
description.
Jaina felt her skin prickle with goose bumps. "Hmmmm," she said. "If
I'm right, there should be a lot more to that artifact than what Lowie
saw. Let's keep looking."
Tenel Ka dug into a small supply pouch she carried with her and withdrew
a pack of carbo-protein biscuits. "Here. Nourishment as we search."
Jacen chomped hungrily on his biscuit.
"Just what are we looking for, Jaina?" he asked, speaking around a
mouthful of crumbs.
"Scrap metal, machinery, another solar panel." Jaina shaded her eyes,
scanning deeper into the thick jungles around them.
"We'll keep widening the circle of our search until we find something.
What we're looking for shouldn't be too far away."
Jacen retrieved a flask of water from the T-23, took a gulp, and handed
it to his sister.
Jaina took a few mouthfuls of water and passed the flask on to Lowbacca.
Then she set off at a trot for the base of the big tree.
Jaina didn't look back to see if the others were following, and bit her
lip, feeling a brief pang of guilt.
At times like this Jaina always seemed to assume leadership, just like
her mother. But how could she help it? Her parents had raised all
three of their children to assess a situation, weigh the alternatives,
and make decisions.
"Let's spread out, lp she said.
"Great!" Jacen said, walking around the massive trunk toward a clump of
dense undergrowth.
Jaina smiled, knowing full well that her brother's excitement came not
from a desire to find the mysterious artifact, but from the opportunity
to explore the jungle and examine its creatures more closely.
She was about to head into the underbrush herself when Lowbacca stopped
her with a questioning growl. Em Teedee translated.
"Master Lowbacca says-and I personally am inclined to agree with
him-that the jungle floor is not a safe place to split up.
Even to speed up a search."
As impatient as she was to continue looking, Jaina stopped to consider.
Tenel Ka caught her eye, placed her hands on her hips, and nodded. "This
is a fact."
Jaina gnawed at her lower lip again, thinking, and came to a decision.
"All right. We spread out a little bit, but only as far as our line of
sight. Good enough?"
The others' murmurs of agreement were interrupted by a loud squawking as
a flock of reptile birds took flight from the bushes near where Jacen
had been exploring. Jacen emerged from the bushes on his hands and
knees, looking startled, but not displeased.
"No big discoveries," he reported, "but I did find this." He held out
his palm. In it was a plump, furry gray creature, quivering in a small
nest of glossy fibers.
Another animal. Jaina sighed with resignation. She might have guessed.
",M. p@
A-hah , Tenel Ka said. Lowbacca bent forward to run a shaggy finger
along the tiny creature's back.
"Look, Jaina," Jacen said, turning the fluffy nest in his hand. He