Young Jedi Knights_ The Lost Ones Part 9

Just then a dark fluttering shape rose up behind Tenel Ka with a keening shriek. Instinctively, she whirled and lashed out at the thing, dropping her glowrod in the process-but the more Tenel Ka batted at the creature, the more frantically it shrieked and flapped about her head.

As soon as Jacen understood what was happening, he reacted. "Hold still!"

he said, moving toward the squealing creature, which had managed to tangle itself in Tenel Ka's long braids. "It's probably scared of the light."

Tenel Ka instantly held still, though he knew it must have gone against her instincts. Jacen's thoughts reached out toward the struggling creature, sending soothing messages to it. Gradually, the winged rodent grew calmer and allowed Jacen to touch it. Careful not to make any startling movements, he gently disentangled its claws from Tenel Ka's hair. Then, still crooning rea.s.surances to the agitated beast, he set it behind himself in the stairwell and backed away.

He picked up the fallen glowrod and returned it to Tenel Ka. "Hey, are you all right?" She nodded curtly, and Jacen suspected that she was embarra.s.sed at having been unable to handle a small flying rodent without his a.s.sistance.

As they resumed their search, he tried to get her mind off the incident.

"So, do you know why the bantha crossed the Dune Sea?"

"No," she said.

"To get to the other side!" He laughed out loud.

"Ah," Tenel Ka said, without even stopping to look at him. "Aha."

He had expected her to be subdued after the encounter with the winged rodent, but she continued at her usual pace. Jacen began to wonder if anything could penetrate her cool confidence. Though part of him admired her fort.i.tude, another part wished that she had been more impressed by the way he'd gallantly come to her rescue.

At the next walkway, it was Jacen's turn to go first. The rickety bridgework was littered with the usual debris of rocks and plasteel. It creaked when he stepped out onto it, high above the ground.

"Be careful," Tenel Ka said from behind him, completely unnecessarily, as far as he was concerned.

"I think we're getting close to that old crashed shuttle," he said, choosing to ignore her remark. "I'm pretty sure it's just on the other-"

The walkway shuddered beneath him, and his heart gave a lurch as metal support struts sheared away with a shrieking noise. He grabbed the rusty rail.

"Hold still!" Tenel Ka called, but it was too late.

With a sound of popping bolts and twisting plasteel, the walkway sagged downward, split in the middle. As if in slow motion, Jacen watched large chunks fall away as the bridge floor beneath his feet tilted at a crazy angle.

A whizzing sounded in his ears, followed by a soft clank. He felt himself slide toward the deadly gap and he grasped the railing, but the corroded metal broke away in his hand. He yelled for help, reaching back for anything to hold on to-and felt a strong arm wrap around his waist, then found himself being swept forward. Almost before he realized what had happened, Tenel Ka had swung both of them across the chasm on her fibercord rope and deposited them onto a st.u.r.dy metal stairway on the opposite side.

With a creaking groan of protest, the remainder of the bridge gave way behind them and fell in ominous, eerie silence into the deep blackness below.

It wasn't until Tenel Ka released him that Jacen realized they had been clinging together for dear life. After what they had just been through, the metal stairway where Tenel Ka had anch.o.r.ed her rope seemed none too safe to Jacen. Nevertheless, the two young Jedi Knights stood in silence for a moment longer, staring down into the bottomless gap between the buildings.

"I guess we make a good team-always rescuing each other," Jacen said at last. "Thanks."

Without waiting for an answer, he turned and climbed down a few steps to a building entrance. Once inside, he sank to the floor in relief, reveling in its comparative solidity.

Tenel Ka lowered herself shakily beside him. In the dim light, her face looked troubled and serious. "I was afraid I might lose a friend."

You almost did, thought Jacen ruefully. But instead he said, "Hey, I'm not that easy to get rid of."

Although she did not smile, Tenel Ka's mood lightened. "This is a fact."

They came upon the crashed shuttle less than ten minutes after they resumed their search. When they saw it, they both spoke at once.

"Zekk's been here," Jacen said.

"Something is wrong," Tenel Ka said. Hearing her, Jacen realized that something was indeed wrong. Tenel Ka noticed his hesitation, and stepped forward. "It is my turn to go first. You may wait here, if you prefer."

"Not on your life," he shot back. "After all, I've got to stay close to you-just in case you need me to rescue you again."

"Ah," she said, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Aha." She entered the shuttle, and Jacen heard her say, "It is all right. No one here."

Following her inside, Jacen saw that while the shuttle was unoccupied, someone had been there recently, picking out the remaining salvageable items. Tangles of wire and cable snaked across the dusty deck plates.

Stripped bolts and broken fasteners lay strewn about. Several access panels gaped open, showing empty s.p.a.ces that had once housed the shuttle's vital equipment.

"Looks like Zekk may have been scavenging here after all," Jacen said.

"That's a good sign."

"Perhaps," Tenel Ka said, lifting a finger to trace the frighteningly familiar symbol that was etched with crude strokes into one of the access panels. "Or perhaps not."

Jacen looked at the fresh scratches that formed a triangle surrounding a cross-the threatening symbol of the Lost Ones gang. Jacen swallowed hard.

"Well," he said, "I guess we know where to look next."

16.

STILL DEEPLY WORRIED about Zekk, old Peckhum piloted his battered supply ship, the Lightning Rod, out of its sheltered hangar. The New Republic would have provided him transportation if he'd requested it, but Peckhum liked to take his own ship, though even on its best days it functioned less reliably than the Millennium Falcon. And it had never been made to carry so many pa.s.sengers.

Lowie crammed himself beside Jaina into the back compartment, his ginger-furred legs stiff and awkward as he maneuvered his lanky Wookiee body into a seat built for someone little more than half his size. Lowie wished he had the T-23 skyhopper his uncle Chewbacca had given him the day he started at the Jedi academy, but the small craft was still on Yavin 4.

Peckhum had cleared tools and cartons of junk from the Lightning Rod's c.o.c.kpit-he usually flew the ship alone-so that Chewbacca could ride in the copilot's seat. Chewbacca brought his own tool kit of battered hydrospanners and diagnostics, gadgets he used while working with Han Solo to keep the Falcon up and running... if just barely. When the Lightning Rod received clearance from Coruscant s.p.a.ce Traffic Control, Peckhum angled upward through the misty clouds at high acceleration until the glowing atmosphere faded into the night of s.p.a.ce. Lowie watched, bending his shoulders to stare out the front viewport as Peckhum maneuvered the ship into a high and stable orbit. The huge solar mirrors remained in position like a lake of silver, spreading a broad blanket of sunlight across the northern and southern regions of the metropolis-covered world.

Although the mirror station was temporarily empty because of the emergency switchover of caretakers, the critical solar mirrors could not be left untended. Peckhum's name was next on the roster, and he had to report for duty, whether or not Zekk had run away from home.

Peckhum brought the Lightning Rod to dock against the corroded old station, which looked like a tiny speck dangling beneath the kilometers-wide reflector. Chewbacca and Lowie blatted to each other in Wookiee language, expressing their admiration for the huge orbital mirror.

The thin silvery fabric was like an ocean of reflection, only a fraction of a millimeter thick. It would have been torn to shreds had it approached Coruscant's atmosphere, but in the stillness of s.p.a.ce the mirror was thick enough.

s.p.a.ce engineers had connected it to the dangling guidance station by dozens of fiber cables, gimbaled to att.i.tude-control rockets that could direct the path of reflected sunlight onto the colder lat.i.tudes.

With the Lightning Rod docked, Peckhum opened the access hatch, which still bore markings from the Old Republic, and they all scrambled through into the austere station where they would spend the next few days.

"Well... isn't this cozy," Jaina said.

"According to my dictionary programming, I should think cramped is a better word," Em Teedee observed. "I am fluent in over six forms of communication, you know."

The metal ceiling was low and dark, strung with insulation-wrapped coolant tubes and wires running to control panels. A single chair sat in the middle of an observation bubble, surrounded by windows that looked down upon the glittering planet below. Old-style computer systems blinked with reluctant readiness, waiting for Peckhum to awaken standby routines and be in the tedious monitoring of the solar path.

Drawn by the spectacular view of s.p.a.ce and the planet, Lowbacca went toward the observation dome. He grasped a cold metal pipe that thrust out from the curved wall and bent down to look, at the huge ball of Coruscant. High clouds masked the daylight side of the planet, while the darkened hemisphere gleamed with millions upon millions of city lights that sparkled like colorful jewels in the night.

Lowie had seen planets from s.p.a.ce before, but somehow it had never struck him how intimate the setting was. Here, high above the world, he felt a part of the universe and apart from it, a piece of the cosmos and an observer at the same time. It was strange to have such a perspective, and it made the galaxy seem both small and immensely large at the same time.

"Don't just stare, Lowie," Jaina urged. "We've got work to do. Our first priority should be to get those communication systems up and running."

Chewbacca roared his agreement, clapping a strong hand on his nephew's hairy shoulder.

Peckhum seemed to be working hard to keep his attention on the routine aboard the station, rather than letting his thoughts wander to Zekk.

"I really appreciate what you're all doing," he said.

"Happy to help," Jaina offered as she knelt down to poke around in some control panels.

"Lowie, you're good with computers. Give me a hand here."

"Oh, absolutely," Em Teedee said. "Master Lowbacca is exceedingly talented when it comes to electronic systems." Lowie growled a response, and the miniature translating droid answered, "Of course they already know that. I was simply reminding them."

"Could you please work on the comm systems first? When I try to transmit, all I can really manage is static," Peckhum said, hovering behind them as he pointed out problems.

Jaina's forehead furrowed with concentration. "Sounds like the power transmission is still working, but the voice synthesis encoders aren't doing their jobs."

With everyone standing around, the area was far too cramped to let Chewbacca push his way in, so the older Wookiee hung back and waited.

Lowie suspected his uncle was amused to watch the two young professionals working so hard. Perhaps it reminded him of the way he and Han had worked together, fixing things again and again.

"Well," Jaina said, scratching her cheek and leaving a smear of grime from the corroded control panels, "I expect that by the end of today we'll have these comm systems up and running." She smiled brightly at Peckhum, and Lowie rumbled his agreement. "Just a stopgap measure, you understand, but they'll work."

Peckhum shrugged. "Better than what I've got now. I still wish we had that central mult.i.tasking unit," he said dejectedly. "Almost as much as I wish we knew what happened to Zekk."

"I'm sure he's all right," Jaina said, but Lowie knew that she was sure of no such thing.

As Jaina tinkered, Chewbacca went to a different part of the station and roared a suggestion. Lowie readily agreed. Since it was getting toward time for midday meal, it seemed a very good idea to get the mirror station's food processing units up and running. Lowie's appet.i.te was already large, and his mouth watered as he thought of the excellent dishes they could create, even from the meager ration supplies on board.

Em Teedee tsked. "Really, Lowbacca! There you go again-always thinking with your stomach."

Chewbacca roared an annoyed challenge, and Em Teedee's voice became thinner, less emphatic. "You Wookiees," the miniaturized translating droid said in quiet exasperation, "you're all alike."

17.

JACEN HAD GOTTEN distracted so many times during their scavenger hunt for the hawkbat egg with Zekk that he would never have been able to retrace his steps through the labyrinth of Coruscant's lower levels. Tenel Ka, however, led the way with an unerring sense of direction... which didn't surprise Jacen a bit.

The buildings drew closer together, became more dilapidated, more ominous. The walls were dark and smeared with sickly discolored blotches that looked like centuries-old bloodstains. Jacen saw the ever-present cross-in-triangle gang symbol chiseled into the duracrete bricks or splashed on with bright, permanent pigments.

"Ah. Aha. We have found the territory claimed by the gang of the Lost Ones," Tenel Ka said, her senses sharpened like a hunter's blade.

Jacen swallowed. "Let's hope we find Zekk soon. I'd hate to overstay our welcome if that gang is in a bad mood again."

"I suspect they are always in a bad mood," she observed. "They may still be angry at us for escaping them before."

"Well, maybe they've got Zekk. We have to rescue him. That Norys guy seems like a bad customer."

Something skittered along the wall behind them, an ugly spider-roach dashing for cover in a clump of slimy moss. At any other time Jacen would have rushed to study the creature, but at the moment he just wanted to be back home and safe in his rooms.

Tenel Ka looked tall and brave as she marched down the enclosed corridor.

Jacen wished fleetingly that he had his own lightsaber, like the one he had used at the Shadow Academy. He knew the Jedi weapons were dangerous and not for play, but right now he didn't want to play with one-he wanted it for genuine protection.

Jacen swallowed nervously and moved closer to the warrior girl, keeping his eyes on her dangling red-gold braids. Maybe humor would turn his thoughts from the sinister gang. "Hey, Tenel Ka-do you know the difference between an AT-AT and a stormtrooper on foot?"

Tenel Ka turned and gave him an odd look.

"Of course I do."

He sighed. "It's a joke. What's the difference between an AT-AT and a stormtrooper on foot?"

"I. am supposed to say 'l don't know'-this is correct?"

"Yeah, exactly," Jacen said.

"I don't know."

"One's an Imperial walker, and the other's a walking Imperial!"

Tenel Ka gave a sage nod. "Yes. Very humorous. Now let us continue our search." She narrowed her cool gray eyes as they approached a corner.

"Zekk is your friend. You know him best. Reach out with your Jedi powers again to see if you can sense him. These corridors have many twists and turns."

Jacen nodded. He didn't think his powers were strong enough to locate any person specifically-he wasn't sure if even Uncle Luke could do that-but all he needed was a trickle of thought, an impression, a hunch. He and Tenel Ka were wandering blindly so far, anyway, and the slightest inkling would increase their odds over pure luck.

As he concentrated and closed his eyes Jacen thought he felt a tingle, something that conjured up an impression of the dark-haired boy in his mind. He pointed the way before he could have second thoughts. Uncle Luke had always taught them to follow their Jedi instincts.

He hurried to keep up with Tenel Ka as they moved down one hall, then another. The old skysc.r.a.per seemed completely empty, oppressive in its silence despite the inhabited levels far above, but Jacen felt invisible eyes watching him from secret hiding places. He trusted his Jedi senses enough to guess that this was not just his imagination.

"We are getting closer, I think," Tenel Ka said.

They heard voices up ahead, and Jacen recognized the timbre of a clear, strong voice-a young man's voice-though he could hear none of the words.

"That sounds like Zekk!" he whispered. "We've found him."