Young Jedi Knights_ The Lost Ones Part 4

"I am most pleased," the amba.s.sador said. "We shall have a simple time making diplomatic treaties, if all members of the New Republic are so considerate of our customs."

Trembling with relief that she had averted what could have been a social gaffe for the Chief of State, Tenel Ka sat back down, while Jacen bent toward her, his brandy-brown eyes wide with astonishment. "How did you know that?" he said in a low whisper.

Tenel Ka shrugged beneath her reptilian armor. "It is... just something I learned," she said, and then fell silent, reluctant to reveal her royal upbringing, even to a good friend.

Even though Zekk sat back and remained quiet, he still felt uncomfortable. The meal tasted delicious, but each time he moved he was afraid that one of his gestures might offend someone or cause a diplomatic incident. Threepio served the rest of the meals, and Zekk fell to eating with quiet attention, savoring the delicious food... though it was far richer than what he was accustomed to.

The salad in the crystal bowl in front of him was crunchy and strange-some of the leaves bitter, others stringy-but he had eaten far worse in his days of scavenging the streets. He had roasted rock slugs and eaten sliced duracrete fungus. These greens at least were fresh, and he relished them.

The conversation around the table seemed to be empty polite chitchat, and Zekk, feeling like an irrelevant guest, did his best to partic.i.p.ate. He pushed aside the empty crystal bowl. "Delicious salad," he said. "I don't believe I've ever had greens like that." That sounded good, a complimentary but neutral statement-enough to show willingness to take part in the dinner conversation, yet nothing anyone could fault him for.

Suddenly he felt all eyes turned toward him. He looked down to see if he had spilled something down the front of his out-of-style jacket.

Jacen seemed full of disbelief. Tenel Ka made no sign that she had even heard Zekk's comment. Jaina nudged Zekk with her elbow in a teasing way "That wasn't a salad," she whispered. "That's the bouquet. You weren't supposed to eat it."

Zekk listened in horror, but kept his face a careful mask.

See-Threepio spoke up from behind them. "Now then, Mistress Jaina, many plants are edible, including all of those within the bouquet. I'm certain there's been no harm-"

From the far end of the table Princess Leia cleared her throat. "I'm glad you liked the salad, Zekk," she said in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, and pulled her crystal dish toward her. She selected a frilly purple-green leaf and stuffed it in her mouth, munching contentedly. Han Solo looked at his wife as if she had gone crazy, then jerked as if he had been kicked under the table. He too began to eat his bouquet. Jaina followed suit, and soon everyone at the table had devoured their "salads."

Zekk was mortified, though he tried not to show it. His manners were laughable, his clothing was outdated, and he had embarra.s.sed everyone by eating something he should have known was a decoration. He wished he had never been invited to this banquet. He endured the rest of the evening in simmering silence until the Karnak amba.s.sador and her entourage of furball children finally departed, accompanied by the Chief of State and her husband.

When New Republic escorts came to return them to their rooms, Zekk decided to take the first opportunity to escape.

"Don't worry about tonight, Zekk," Jaina said in an understanding voice.

"You're our friend. That's all that matters."

Zekk felt stung by her comment, by the fact that she had even needed to say such a thing. He didn't belong here. That truth was etched in burning letters in his brain. He should have known better, but he had pretended that he could fit in with such high-cla.s.s friends.

When he slipped out the back door of the main dining hall, fully intending to walk too fast for even the rigid escorts to keep up with him, Jaina tried to stop him. "Wait!" she called. "We're still going to meet tomorrow, right? We promised to help you get that central mult.i.tasking unit for Peckhum."

Zekk didn't particularly want to go home, but he certainly couldn't stay.

He hurried out into the corridors without answering Jaina.

7.

LATER THAT NIGHT, the bulk s.p.a.ce cruiser Adamant lurched into the Coruscant system, heavily guarded by New Republic warships. The number of a.s.sault fighters bristling with turbolaser cannons that cl.u.s.tered around the supply cruiser hinted at the military importance of the cargo it carried.

Standing ready on the cruiser's command bridge, Admiral Ackbar remained tense despite the additional precautions that had been taken. The Adamant approached a docking zone near the Coruscant s.p.a.ce stations, precisely according to schedule. The a.s.sault fighters powered down their weapons and split off as each squadron signaled farewell to the admiral, commander of the New Republic Fleet.

"Thanks for the escort," Ackbar said into the Comm unit. "Coruscant security will take over from here." He switched off and paced the bridge.

It had been a long haul, but the New Republic badly needed the modern hyperdrive cores and turbolaser battery emplacements his ship carried in its armored holds. The Adamant would deliver the components to the Kuat Drive Yards, where they would be installed in a new fleet of battleships.

Ackbar had been charged with making a formal inspection tour-and he always relished the chance to be aboard a fine military ship.

Though the main threat from the evil Empire had ended, trouble still flared up in the non-allied systems. The fragile government, led by Chief of State Leia Organa Solo, had to be ready at all times with a force strong enough to ward off attacks from known or unknown enemies.

"Coruscant Central acknowledges our arrival," said the helmsman.

Admiral Ackbar nodded. "It'll be good to take some rest and recreation downside," he said, turning to the helmsman and staring with his round, fishy eyes. "Ever been to Coruscant for a furlough before, Lieutenant?"

The young man nodded. "Yes, sir. Several times. I know where there's this little rooftop cantina, a rotating restaurant that lets you look out across the whole city. They've got a keyboard player with ten tentacles.

Boy, you should hear the music she makes!"

Admiral Ackbar chuckled just as the tactical officer turned from her station, her normally pale skin flushed as she shouted an alarm.

"Admiral! An unidentified fleet just appeared off our starboard bow.

Range is less than fifty kilometers and closing fast. They appear to be in an attack formation."

Ackbar whirled to look out the front viewports. "Attack formation?" he said. "But we're in the Coruscant protected zone, one of the most heavily guarded areas in the galaxy. Who could possibly attack us?" He saw the incoming fleet as it soared in like birds of prey, appearing out of nowhere. In the same moment, he felt the stunning blows from their ion cannons, which immediately crippled the Adamant's defensive systems.

"Battlestations!" he cried in his gravelly voice as another thundering blow slammed into the side of the Adamant.

"Minor outer hull breach," the operations officer shouted. "Loss of pressure. Emergency bulkhead doors have closed."

"Transmit a distress signal," Ackbar yelled. "Request immediate a.s.sistance from Coruscant security. Now!"

"All weapons systems off-line," the tactical officer reported. "We can't even fire a shot. Engines are still undamaged, though-almost as if our attackers are trying not to target them."

"They want to steal this ship," Ackbar said as the cold realization struck him. "And its cargo."

The communications officer had begun transmitting a distress signal, but the round-faced young man looked up almost immediately, his cheeks pale.

"Sir, communication systems are nonfunctional. We can't even request help."

Admiral Ackbar swallowed. Coruscant would note the attack and respond within minutes, but by then, he knew, it would be too late.

The enemy ships closed in.

The modified a.s.sault shuttle zeroed in on its target. At his controls the former TIE pilot Qorl guided the attack. He wore a black skull-like helmet that sealed against his skin and recirculated breathable air. The dark goggles covering his eyes transmitted important tactical data to his retinas.

He positioned the shuttle's circular cutting mouth attachment against the armor plating of the Rebel supply cruiser. The name Adamant had been stenciled on the side... Adamant, which meant impenetrable, unyielding.

Qorl grunted to himself. The exceedingly tough cutting teeth were made from industrial-grade Corusca gems and could slice through any known substance. The Shadow Academy 's takeover troops would be in control of the ship within moments.

Qorl punched an important-looking red b.u.t.ton on the controls. It set the Corusca blades spinning, chewing, until the attachment had sliced out a large circle in the Adamant's hull, opening a hole into the supply cruiser.

Qorl clenched the black-gloved hand of his bulky droid arm into a fist.

His own arm had been crippled when his TIE fighter crashed on the jungle moon of Yavin 4, but Imperial engineers had replaced the twisted limb with a more powerful droid attachment. His strength had increased, though he could not feel anything with his new mechanical fingers.

Eager stormtroopers a.s.sembled in the boarding tube, holding their blaster rifles ready. Qorl knew that the supply cruiser's main defenses had been on the escort ships, the fourteen heavily armed corvettes, E-wings, and X-wings that had flanked the Adamant on its trip to Coruscant. The Rebels had become complacent at their capital world, though, and they had let their defenses lapse for just a moment. Qorl, lurking in his invisible hiding place, had seized that moment to strike.

"Airtight seal complete," a stormtrooper captain reported.

"Very well," Qorl said, standing from his command chair. "Begin the a.s.sault. We must be away from here within five standard minutes. We have no time for errors."

The sealed hatch of the boarding tube popped open, and the stormtroopers charged in, firing at anything that moved using only stun beams. They had no particular desire to avoid killing the Adamant's crew, but deadly blaster bolts might cause irreparable damage to the bridge's control systems.

Some of the Rebel crew had taken shelter behind consoles. They fired at the stormtroopers, releasing wild bursts of energy. One trooper went down, a smoking hole in his white chest armor, making a gurgling sound that ended with a burst of static over his comm system.

Qorl marched in, holding a blaster pistol in his droid hand. The stormtroopers fired repeatedly. The Rebel helmsman went down, flying backwards as bolts of blue energy knocked him aside. A tactical officer screamed a challenge as she leaped from her position, shooting four times in quick succession. She killed two stormtroopers before she, too, was stunned. Qorl strode forward, intent on the Adamant's helm. He needed to get this ship moving soon.

The dark goggles of his TIE helmet allowed little peripheral vision, and as he pa.s.sed the command station, the Rebel commanding officer-a fish-faced Calamarian-leaped up and tackled him. Qorl's blaster pistol clattered to the floor.

The officer wrestled with Qorl, fighting with flipper hands, but the TIE pilot drove his powerful droid fist into the face of the alien, knocking him out cold. Qorl retrieved his blaster pistol and climbed to his feet, brushing off his black uniform.

A stormtrooper captain marched up to him smartly "The bridge is secure, sir. Ready to move out."

Qorl sat down in the Adamant's command chair. "Very well." He sealed his helmet and his padded suit for total containment, which would protect him from the rapid decompression when the a.s.sault ship detached itself from the hull. He hesitated. "Stuff these Rebels into an escape pod, and launch it."

"Save them, sir?" the trooper asked, perplexed. "We don't have much time.

"Then be quick about it!" Qorl snapped. Conflicting emotions warred within him. These were the enemy, and he had sworn to fight them-but the crew on this ship had battled valiantly, and he couldn't stomach letting them die as they lay there unconscious.

The stormtroopers paused for only a second, then hustled as they dragged the limp forms to the bridge escape pod and unceremoniously dumped them inside the defenseless craft. The stormtrooper captain sealed the batch and punched the pod's external launch control. With a hiss from explosive bolts and a gush of compressed gases, the escape pod shot away.

Qorl studied the Adamant's tactical station. Rebel defensive forces were finally on their way, streaking up out of orbit and heading toward the besieged supply ship. "Go!" he said to the troopers. "Take the a.s.sault shuttle and escape. I will meet you back at the base."

The stormtroopers hurried to the shark-mouthed a.s.sault shuttle and sealed the boarding hatch. Qorl braced himself as the modified ship detached itself, letting the contained atmosphere rush out of the bridge through the gaping hole, to s.p.a.ce.

Secure in his suit, Qorl powered up all the engines. He fed in preprogrammed coordinates, and the Adamant lurched into motion. As the Rebel fleet zoomed in, Qorl followed his Imperial ships, carrying with him an incredible treasure that would help the Second Imperium gain its rightful place of military superiority.

The base was very close indeed.

Admiral Ackbar returned to consciousness, and found himself crammed with his crew inside an escape pod that whirled out of control through s.p.a.ce.

His head ached, and he felt as if a s.p.a.ce mine had exploded inside his skull. His crew members groaned and stirred, coming awake. For some reason their lives had been spared. He wriggled his way over to one of the tiny viewports so he could watch for rescue craft.

As the escape pod spun about in a nauseating spiral, Admiral Ackbar saw his own ship from the outside. The hijacked s.p.a.ce cruiser Adamant lumbered into motion and picked up speed as the Imperial fighters streaked ahead of it.

New Republic reinforcements headed on a direct path to recapture the precious weapons and supplies-but already Ackbar could see that the Imperial ships would be long gone by the time those reinforcements arrived.

Ackbar watched the Adamant vanish before the Coruscant ships came close enough to fire a shot. He wished he could just fall back into unconsciousness, but the splitting pain in his skull kept him wide awake.

8.

AS ZEKK HURRIED through the night streets of Imperial City, heading away from the palace, he took back stairways and crossed alley catwalks, wanting to see no one. Overhead, blinking lights from shuttles taxiing across the atmosphere fought through a blurring mist of condensed moisture from roof exhaust vents. The city's myriad lights and its sprawling landscape of skysc.r.a.pers extending beyond the horizon taunted him with the knowledge that, despite the millions upon millions of inhabitants, he was totally alone.

After the evening's miserable escapades, he felt as if a marquee droid was hovering over his head, broadcasting to everyone that Zekk was a clumsy fool, an embarra.s.sment to his friends. What had he been thinking-trying to fit in with important society, mingling with amba.s.sadors and diplomats, making friends with the children of the Chief of State? Who was he to spend time with such people?

He looked at his feet for something to kick, finally spotted an empty beverage container, and lashed out with his boot, a boot he had spent time polishing so he would look good in front of his so-called friends.

The container clattered and bounced against a duracrete wall, but to Zekk's frustration it refused to break.

He kept his gaze turned downward, to the shadows and the cl.u.s.ters of garbage in the gutter. He shuffled aimlessly, wandering the back streets, not caring where he might end up. The lower world of Coruscant was his home. He knew it well, and he could survive here-which was good, because it looked as if he would be stuck in this gloomy place for the rest of his life.

There was no hope, no chance for advancement. He simply wasn't the equal of those people who could look forward to a bright future-people like Jaina and Jacen.

Zekk was a n.o.body.

He saw a group of merchants closing up their kiosks for the night, chatting cordially with the New Republic guards who patrolled the streets. Zekk didn't want to go near them, didn't want any company whatsoever. He slipped into a public turbolift and punched a b.u.t.ton at random, descending nineteen floors and emerging in a dimmer section of the city.

Old Peckhum had already gone up to the mirror station on his tour of duty, so even Zekk's home would be empty and uninviting. He'd have to spend the night alone, trying to keep amused with games or entertainment systems... but nothing sounded at all interesting.

He could wander around for as long as he liked, so he decided to enjoy it. No one would tell him to go to bed, no one would admonish him for going places where he wasn't allowed, no one would breathe down his neck.

He smiled thinly. He had a freedom Jaina and Jacen didn't have. When they were out exploring and having fun, the twins constantly checked their chronometers, making sure they would be back home at the appointed time, never making allowances for unexpected circ.u.mstances. They certainly didn't want to give their protocol droid a burned worry circuit by not following their explicit orders. The twins were prisoners to their own schedules.

What did it matter if Zekk didn't know all the manners a life in the diplomatic court required? Who cared if he didn't understand which eating implement to use, or what the appropriate phrase of grat.i.tude was when speaking to an insectoid amba.s.sador? He snorted with derision. He wouldn't want to live like Jaina and Jacen. No way!

As he wandered along the abandoned corridors, purposely scuffing his toes against the floor plates, he paid no attention to the thickening shadows, to the oppressive silence that surrounded him. He sniffed and clenched his teeth in remembered humiliation. He didn't care about any of that.

Zekk was 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 pa.s.sage 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 p.r.o.nounced 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.