then I have to see the Howler Tree People again for a musical ceremony this
afternoon. . . ." She rubbed her temples as if in anticipation of a
headache. "I really do love my job-uh, most of it at least."
As they left Leia's office, Jacen groaned. "Mom doesn't believe there's even
a problem."
"Then I guess we'll have to keep searching on our own,'' Jaina said.
Lowie growled agreement.
"It's all up to us," Jacen said, pounding a determined fist into his palm.
"This is a fact," said Tenel Ka.
* 11 *
AFTER WHAT SEEMED like an eternity, Zekk fought his way back to
consciousness. He felt as if a million volts had shot through his body,
short-circuiting half of his nerves and leaving his muscles tingly and
twitching. His head ached. The hard metal floor beneath his body oozed a
cruel chill. The harsh white light hurt his eyes.
When he sat up, he had to blink away sparkling, colored spots. Waiting for
his vision to focus, Zekk finally realized there was nothing to see--only
blank, whitish-gray walls. He found a small speaker grille and the vent for
an air-circulation system, but nothing else. He couldn't even find the door.
Zekk knew he must be in some kind of cell.
He remembered struggling with the evil-looking people who had captured him
in the lower city--a black-haired woman with violet eyes using a strange
scanning device, and a dark young man who had stunned him....
"Hey!" he yelled. His voice sounded rough and hoarse. "Hey! Where am I?" He
got to his feet, swaying from dizziness, and made his way to the nearest
wall. He hammered on the metal plates, shouting for attention. He worked his
way around the small room, but found no door crack. He stumbled to the
speaker and shouted into it. "Somebody tell me what's going on. You have no
right to take me prisoner!"
But in spite of his brave words, Zekk knew things that Jaina and Jacen,
raised within the protective confines of the law and guarded by security
forces all their lives, had never understood. Zekk knew that his "rights"
wouldn't be protected if someone had the power to take them away. No one
would fight for him. No one would send military fleets to rescue him. If
Zekk disappeared, there would be no public outcry. Few people would even
notice.
"Hey!" he shouted again, kicking at the wall. "Why am I a prisoner? Why do
you want me?"
He whirled as he heard a whishing sound on the opposite side of the room. A
smooth door slid aside to reveal a powerful-looking man flanked by
stormtroopers. The man was tall and wore silvery robes. His hair was blond
and neat, his face gentle and complacent. His exceedingly handsome features
looked as finely made as a sculpture. The man's very presence exuded an aura
of peace and calm.
"Aren't you over-reacting a bit?" the man said. His rich voice hummed with
power and charisma. "We came as soon as we realized you were awake. You
could have hurt yourself by pounding so hard on the walls."
Zekk did not allow himself to relax. "I want to know why I'm here," he said.
"Let me go. My friends will be looking for me."
"No they won't." The man shook his head. 'We have enough information about
you to know that. But don't worry."
"Don't worry?" Zekk sputtered. "How can you say-" He stopped short, as the
man's words struck home. No, his friends wouldn't be looking for him, would
they? He doubted Jaina and Jacen would want to be seen with him after the
debacle of the diplomatic banquet. "What do you mean?" he asked in a subdued
voice.
The man in the silvery robes gestured to the guards. The stormtroopers
waited outside as the man entered the cell alone, sealing the door behind
him. "I see they put you in our . . . least extravagant living quarters." He
sighed. "We'll find you a more comfortable room as soon as possible."
"Who are you?" Zekk said, still not letting his guard down. "Why did you
stun me?"
"My name is Brakiss, and I apologize for the . . . enthusiasm of my
colleague Tamith Kai. But I do believe she authorized the use of force only
because of your struggles. If you had cooperated, it could have been a much
more pleasant experience."
"I didn't know being kidnapped was supposed to be 'pleasant,"' Zekk snarled.
"Kidnapped?" Brakiss said in feigned alarm. "Let's not jump to conclusions
until we've got the full story."
"Then explain it to me," Zekk said.
"All right." Brakiss smiled. "Would you like any refreshments? Something
warm to drink?"
"Just tell me what's going on," Zekk said.
Brakiss pressed his hands together. His silvery robes flickered around him
like rippling water under a cloudy sky. "I have some news for you--good
news, I hope you'll agree, although it may come as something of a shock."
"What?" Zekk asked, frowning skeptically.
"Are you aware that you have Jedi potential?"
Zekk's green eyes widened. "A Jedi--me? I think you've got the wrong
person."
Brakiss grinned. "Fairly strong potential. We were surprised ourselves.
Didn't your friends Jacen and Jaina tell you? Weren't you aware?"
"I don't have any Jedi potential," Zekk mumbled. "I couldn't have anything
like that."
"And why not?" Brakiss asked, raising his eyebrows. He seemed so reasonable.
He waited for Zekk to answer, and finally the boy looked down at his hands.
"Because I... I'm just a street kid. I'm a nobody. Jedi Knights are great
protectors of the New Republic . They're powerful and--"
Brakiss nodded impatiently. "Yes they are, but the potential to be a Jedi
has nothing to do with where you live or how you were raised. The Force
knows no economic boundaries. Luke Skywalker himself was just the foster son
of a moisture farmer.''
"Why shouldn't a poor kid like you have just as much Jedi ability as, for
instance, a politician's twin children who live in luxury with all their
needs cared for? In fact," Brakiss said in a lower voice, "it could be that
because your life has been so tough, your true potential as a Jedi has been
honed even sharper than the potential of those pampered little brats."
"They're not brats," Zekk retorted. "They're my friends."
Brakiss dismissed his comment with a casual wave. "Whatever."
"How come I never knew about this? How come I never . . . felt anything?"
Zekk asked. He realized suddenly what Tamith Kai had been scanning for with
her strange electronic device.
Brakiss rocked back on his heels. "You might not know you had any Force
talent if no one ever trained you. It's a simple enough thing to measure,
though. If Jacen and Jaina were such close friends, I'm shocked to think
that they never bothered to test you. Isn't it true that Master Skywalker is
desperately on the lookout for more Jedi Knights?"
Zekk nodded uncomfortably.
"Well, if that's so," Brakiss continued, "why didn't they test everyone
around them? Why would they just dismiss you out of hand, Zekk? I think
they've shortchanged you; they probably never even imagined that a street
kid, a lowborn scamp, wo
uld be worthy of Jedi training, no matter what his
innate potential."
"That isn't it," Zekk muttered, but his words carried no strength.
"Have it your way." Brakiss shrugged.
Zekk looked away, though the featureless walls of the cell gave him nothing
else to stare at. He waved a hand around to indicate the cold, close cell.
"What is this place?" he asked, trying to change the subject.
"This place is the Shadow Academy ," Brakiss said, and Zekk was startled to
recognize the name of the hidden station where Jaina and Jacen had been held
against their will. "I am in charge of training new Jedi for the Second
Imperium. I use different methods than Master Skywalker follows at his Yavin
4 training center."
Brakiss frowned sympathetically. "But then you wouldn't know, would you?
Your friends never took you there." His voice turned up in a question. "Did
they? Even for a visit?"
Zekk shook his head.
"Well, I am training new Jedi, powerful warriors to help bring back the
glory and order of a new Empire. The Rebel Alliance is a criminal movement.
You wouldn't understand that, because you're too young to remember what it
was like under Emperor Palpatine."
"I hate the Empire!" Zekk said.
"No you don't," Brakiss assured him. "Your friends have told you to hate the
Empire, but you never witnessed any of it firsthand. You've only seen their
version of history. You realize, of course, that whichever government is in
charge always makes the defeated enemy look like a monster. I will tell you
the truth. The Empire had very little political chaos. Every person had
opportunities. There were no gangs running wild through the streets of
Coruscant. Everyone had a task to do, and they did it willingly.''
"Besides, what does galactic politics have to do with you, young Zekk?
You've never been concerned with such things. Would your life really change
if the Chief of State were replaced by a different politician in a different
Empire? If you work with us, on the other hand, your life could be much
improved."
Zekk shook his head, clamping his teeth together. "I won't betray my
friends," he growled.
"Your friends," Brakiss said. "Oh, yes . . . the ones who never tested you
for Jedi potential, the ones who only come to visit you when it fits into
their social schedule. They're going to leave you behind, you know, as they
find more 'important' work to do. They'll forget about you so fast you won't
have time to blink."
"No," Zekk whispered. "No they won't."
"Tell me, what does the future hold for you?" Brakiss continued, his voice
persuasive. "Certainly, you've made friends that move in rich and important
circles-but will you ever be a part of that? Be honest with yourself."
Zekk didn't answer, though he knew the truth deep in his heart.
"You'll be scavenging for the rest of your years, selling trinkets to earn
enough credits for your next meal. Do you really have any chance for power
or glory or importance of your own?"
Again, Zekk refused to answer. Brakiss leaned forward, his beautifully
chiseled features radiating kindness and concern. "I'm offering you that
chance, boy. Are you brave enough to take it?"
Zekk searched for the strength to resist, focused on a thread of anger. "The
same chance you offered to Jaina and Jacen? They told me how you kidnapped
them, brought them to the Shadow Academy , and tortured them."
"Tortured them?" Brakiss laughed and shook his blond head. "I suppose after
being pampered all their lives, a bit of hard work might seem like torture.
I offered to train them to become powerful Jedi--I admit it was a mistake.
We wanted young Jedi Knights to train, but the candidates we invited were
too high-profile. The risk was greater than we had anticipated, and it
called too much attention to our academy.''
"So I decided to change my plan. As I told you, the Force moves as strongly
within the less-fortunate as in those who are rich and powerful. Your social
status doesn't concern me in the least, Zekk--only your talent and your
willingness to develop it. Tamith Kai and I have decided to search among the
lower levels of society for people whose potential is just as great as in
those among the higher levels, and yet whose disappearance won't cause such
a stir. People with the incentive to work with us.'
Zekk scowled, but Brakiss's eyes blazed. "If you join us, I guarantee you
the name of Zekk will never be ignored or forgotten."
The cell door opened again, and a stormtrooper held out a tray with steaming
talking," Brakiss said. "I trust most of your questions have been answered,
but feel free to ask anything else you wish."
Zekk realized that he was voraciously hungry, and he took three of the
pastries, licking his lips as he ate them. He had never tasted anything so
wonderful in his life.
The implications of Brakiss's words terrified him, but the questions about
his future bubbled to the surface again and again in his mind. Although Zekk
didn't want to admit it, he could not shake the feeling that Brakiss and his
promises made a lot of sense.
As Brakiss sealed the door behind him on his way out, he turned to the
stormtrooper guards in the hall. "See that the boy gets a nicer room, he
said. "I don't think we'll have much trouble with him."
The master of the Shadow Academy glided down the corridor as the old TIE
pilot marched up to report. Qorl was still in his black armored suit and
cradled his skull-like helmet in his powerful droid arm. "The captured Rebel
cruiser Adamant is now enclosed within our shields, Lord Brakiss," he said.
"Its weaponry is being off-loaded even as we speak."
Brakiss smiled broadly. "Excellent. Was it as big a shipment as we
expected?"
Qorl nodded. "Affirmative, sir. The hyperdrive cores and turbolaser
batteries will enable us to virtually double the Second Imperium's military
strength. It was a wise move to strike now."
Brakiss folded his hands together, letting his flowing silvery sleeves
swallow them up. "Most excellent. Everything is proceeding as planned. I
will report to our Great Leader and tell him the good news. Before long, the
Empire will shine again-and these Rebels can do nothing to prevent it."
* 12 *
"SHUTTLE MOON DASH, this is Coruscant Control Tower One. You are cleared to
leave spacedock. Bay doors opening in Gamma Section."
Captain Narek-Ag opened her main comm channel. "Thank you, Tower One. This
is shuttle Moon Dash, heading for Gamma bay doors with a full load of
cargo." She switched off the comm unit and grinned conspiratorially at her
copilot, Trebor. "A few more good payloads like this," she said, "and I may
just ask you to marry me." Her hazel eyes held a teasing look.
Trebor grinned back, accustomed to his captain's sense of humor. "Keep
making good business deals like this one, and I may just accept."
With the ease born of long practice, Narek guided her shuttle out of its
docking bay in one of Coruscan
t's orbiting space stations. "Coordinates
locked in?" she asked.
"Locked in and confirmed," her copilot answered the moment she finished
speaking.
Narek chuckled as her shuttle streaked away from the spacedock. Accelerating
through the inner Coruscant system, she calibrated their hyperspace path for
Bespin, the next planet on their run. "You know, for a small-time
operation--
'--we're not half bad," Trebor finished for her.
"Not half bad," she echoed with a satisfied nod. "Calculating hyperspace
path."
"Almost ready," Trebor said. "If we hurry, there might be enough time to
deliver this cargo to Cloud City and still arrange for a second payload on
the return trip. That would double our profit for this run."
A pleased smile spread across Narek's face. She flicked her auburn hair to
one side. "I love it when you think like a businessman."
"Businessperson," Trebor corrected. "Approaching top acceleration. Prepare
for jump to lightspeed."
Suddenly the Moon Dash lurched as if it had slammed into an impenetrable
barrier. The tiny craft ricocheted, spinning uncontrollably. Alarms whooped
and bright warning lights flashed across the control console.