Star Wars: The Jedi Academy Trilogy I: Jedi Search Read online

  UNDER FIRE

  Chewbacca saw it first. The ship, aerodynamically perfect, slid through Kessel’s atmosphere like a vibroblade. The ship fired surgical strikes of turbolasers at the Falcon’s maneuvering jets, disabling them further.

  “We’re already crashing!” Han bellowed. “What more do they want?” But he knew: they wanted the Falcon to be destroyed on impact, all occupants erased.

  When the Hornet tried to outflank them, Han swept the ship aside as a towering plume of atmosphere boiled into the sky. The Hornet Interceptor tried to second-guess his move, but Han lurched sideways again, driving the Hornet into the roaring upward flow of wind.

  Han gave a cry of triumph.…

  Then the surface of the planet Kessel rushed up at them like a gigantic hammer.

  JEDI SEARCH

  A Bantam Book / March 1994

  SPECTRA and the portrayal of a boxed “s” are trademarks of Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

  All rights reserved.

  Trademark and text copyright R and © 1994 by Lucasfilm Ltd.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  For information address: Bantam Books.

  eISBN: 978-0-307-79611-0

  Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words “Bantam Books” and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036.

  v3.1

  Dedication

  To my editor

  BETSY MITCHELL,

  for giving me the opportunity to play

  in such a vast and entertaining universe

  and for helping shape my work into

  the best it could be.

  Acknowledgments

  Lucy Autrey Wilson of Lucasfilm Licensing for keeping watch over a million things at once and for suggesting new things faster than I could possibly implement the old ones; my wife Rebecca for all her brainstorming and her sharp editing skills—and her love; Bill Smith for his suggestions and the invaluable STAR WARS source material available from West End Games; Ralph McQuarrie for his wild ideas and imagination that sparked more than one avalanche of possibilities; Dave Willoughby for his help in alien geology and the other STAR WARS authors Tom Veitch, Dave Wolverton, Timothy Zahn, and Kathy Tyers for helping my story fit in with theirs.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Also by this Author

  Introduction to the Star Wars Expanded Universe

  Excerpt from Star Wars: The Jedi Academy: Dark Apprentice

  Introduction to the Old Republic Era

  Introduction to the Rise of the Empire Era

  Introduction to the Rebellion Era

  Introduction to the New Republic Era

  Introduction to the New Jedi Order Era

  Introduction to the Legacy Era

  Star Wars Novels Timeline

  1

  The black hole cluster near Kessel reached out for the Millennium Falcon with jaws of gravity, drawing it close. Even in the mottled blur of hyperspace, Han Solo could see the huge distortion as a bruised whirlpool, trying to suck them down to infinity.

  “Hey, Chewie! Don’t you think that’s too close?” He stared at the Falcon’s navicomputer, wishing they had chosen a course that would take them a safer distance from the Maw. “What do you think this is, an old smuggling mission? We got nothing to hide this time.”

  Beside him, Chewbacca looked disappointed and grunted an excuse, waving his hairy paws in the stifling air of the cockpit.

  “Yeah, well we’re on an official mission this time. No more skulking about. Try to act dignified, okay?”

  Chewbacca groaned a skeptical reply, then turned to his navigational screens.

  Han felt a pang at returning to his old haunts, reminded of when he had been just on the other side of the law, running spice, being chased by Imperial scout ships. When his life had been free and easy.

  On one of those frantic missions, he and Chewbacca had practically shaved the bottom plating off the Falcon, taking a shortcut and skimming closer to the Maw cluster of black holes than had ever before been recorded. Sensible pilots avoided the area, using longer paths that kept them clear of the black holes, but the Falcon’s speed had carried them to safety on the other side, making the Kessel run in under twelve parsecs. But that “guaranteed sure thing” mission had ended in disaster anyway; Han had dumped his load of spice just before being boarded by Imperials.

  This time, though, Han was returning to Kessel under different circumstances. His wife Leia had appointed him an official representative of the New Republic, an ambassador of sorts, though the title seemed somewhat honorary.

  But even an honorary title had its advantages. Han and Chewbacca no longer had to dodge scout ships, or duck under planetary sensor nets, or use the secret compartments under the deck plates. Han Solo found himself in the unlikely, and uncomfortable, position of being respectable. There was no other word for it.

  But Han’s new responsibilities weren’t just quaint annoyances. He was married to Leia—who could have imagined that?—and he had three children.

  Han leaned back in his flight chair and locked his hands behind his head. He allowed a wistful smile to cross his face. He had visited the kids as often as he could, in their protective isolation on a secret planet, and the twins were due to come home to Coruscant in a week. Anakin, the third little baby, had filled him with wonder as he tickled the tiny ribs, watching an expression of amusement cross the infant’s face.

  Han Solo, a father figure? Leia had said a long time ago that she liked “nice men”—and that was exactly what Han was turning into!

  He caught Chewbacca looking at him out of the corner of his eye. Embarrassed, Han sat up straight and frowned down at the controls. “Where are we? Shouldn’t it be about time to end this jump?”

  Chewie growled an affirmative, then reached out with a furry paw to grasp the hyperspace controls. The Wookiee watched the numbers tick away on his control panel; at the appropriate moment he hauled backward on the lever that dropped them back into normal space. The mottled coloring of hyperspace fanned into starlines with a roar that Han felt more than heard; then they were surrounded by the expected tapestry of stars.

  Behind them the spectacle of the Maw looked like a garish finger painting as ionized gas plunged into multiple black holes. Directly in front of the Falcon, Han saw the blue-white
glare of Kessel’s sun. As the ship rotated to align them with the ecliptic, Kessel itself came into view, potato-shaped and maned with the tendrils of escaping atmosphere, orbited by a large moon that had once housed a garrison of Imperial troopers.

  “Right on target, Chewie,” Han said. “Now let me have the controls.”

  Kessel looked like a wraith coasting along its orbit, too small to hold on to its own atmosphere. Huge generating factories constantly processed the raw rocks to release oxygen and carbon dioxide, making it possible for people to survive outside with simple breath masks instead of total environment suits. A good portion of the newly manufactured atmosphere escaped into space, wisping behind the small planet like the tail of a giant comet.

  Chewbacca barked a short, nasal comment. Han nodded. “Yeah, it looks great from up here. Too bad it’s so different when you get a closer look. I never liked the place.”

  Kessel was a major planet for spice production and seat of heavy smuggling activities, as well as the site for one of the toughest prisons in the galaxy. The Empire had controlled spice production except for what smugglers managed to steal from under Imperial noses. But with the fall of the Emperor, the smugglers and the prisoners in the Imperial Correction Facility took over the planet. Kessel had laid low during the depredations of Grand Admiral Thrawn and the recent resurrection of the Emperor, keeping quiet and trying hard not to be noticed, answering no one’s request for help.

  A low growl rumbled in Chewie’s throat. Han sighed and shook his head, “Look, I’m not happy about going back there either, buddy. But things are different now, and we’re the best people to do it.”

  With the civil war ended and the New Republic once again firmly seated on Coruscant, leaving scattered groups of Imperial warships to fight each other, it was time to reopen negotiations. Better to get them on our side than to let them sell out wherever they can, Han thought, which is what they’ll probably do anyway. As representative of the new unified smugglers, Luke’s old nemesis Mara Jade had tried to contact Kessel and been flatly rebuffed.

  The Millennium Falcon approached Kessel, firing aft thrusters to help them catch up with the planet’s motion, preparing for insertion into orbit. On the helm’s scanner screens, Han checked their approach. “Vectoring in,” he said.

  Chewie made a quick comment and pointed at the screens. Han looked down to see blips already in orbit around the planet, emerging from the blanketing clouds of the atmosphere. “I see ’em. Looks like about a half dozen ships. Too far away to determine the types.”

  Han brushed aside Chewie’s uneasy growl. “Well, then we’ll just tell them who we are. Don’t worry. Why do you think Leia made such a fuss about getting us proper diplomatic ID signals and everything?”

  He switched on the New Republic beacon that automatically pinged out their identification in Basic and several other languages. To his surprise, the orbiting ships changed their vector in unison and increased speed to intercept the Falcon.

  “Hey!” Han shouted, then realized he had not switched on the audio pickup. Chewie roared. Han toggled the switch on. “This is Han Solo of the New Republic ship Millennium Falcon. We are on a diplomatic mission.” His mind raced, wondering what words a real diplomat would use. “Uh, please state your intentions.”

  The two closest ships raced in, first growing into distinct points of light, then taking on shapes. “Chewie, I think you’d better get our forward deflector shields up. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

  He reached for the communications switch as Chewbacca brought up the shields, but then he looked through the front viewport. The two incoming ships roared toward him at unbelievable speed, spreading out on either side. The sight of their squared-off solar panels and central pilot compartments turned Han’s blood to ice water.

  TIE fighters.

  “Chewie, get over here. I’m taking the laser cannon.”

  Before the Wookiee could reply, Han hauled himself up the access tube into the gun well. He grabbed on to the gunner’s chair, trying to reorient himself in the new gravity field.

  The TIE fighters came in for a two-pronged attack, spreading above and below the Falcon and firing their lasers. As the ship lurched from the impact, Han managed to throw himself into the gunner’s chair, grabbing for the harness buckle and strapping himself in. One of the attacking ships swooped overhead, and the Falcon’s sensor panels howled with the sound of Twin Ion Engines, from which the TIE fighter took its name. The enemy vessel fired again, but the beams streaked harmlessly through space.

  “Chewie, take evasive action! Don’t just fly straight!”

  The Wookiee shouted something from below, and Han yelled back. “I don’t know—you’re piloting, you figure it out!” Obviously Kessel had not rolled out the welcome mat for them. Had some vestige of the Empire taken over the planet? If so, Han needed to get that information back to Coruscant.

  Other ships were approaching now, and somehow Han didn’t think they were coming to help. Up ahead, the two TIE fighters swooped up in a tight arc, executing a complete one-eighty and roaring back for a second attack on the Falcon.

  But this time Han had managed to strap himself in and power up the laser batteries. On his scope the TIE fighter made a digitized target, growing larger. The enemy ship came closer and closer. Han tightened his grip around the firing levers, knowing the TIE pilot would be doing the same. He waited, feeling sweat build up on his neck. He realized he was holding his breath. One more second. One more second. The targeting cross showed dead center on the starboard wing of the fighter.

  The instant Han pressed the firing button, Chewbacca threw the Falcon into an evasive roll. The laser blasts went wide, spraying toward the distant stars. The TIE fighter’s shot also missed, streaking in the opposite direction and coming perilously close to striking the second TIE fighter.

  The second fighter managed to readjust his aim quickly enough that his two shots scored the Falcon’s shields. Han heard sparks spraying from the control panels. Chewie bellowed a preliminary damage report. Aft shields gone. Forward shields still holding well. That meant they had to take the TIE fighters head-on.

  As the first fighter swung around for a third pass, Han swiveled his gun turret as far as it would go and stared at the targeting screen again. This time he would forget about finesse and perfect accuracy. He just wanted to blast the sucker. His lasers were fully charged, and he could afford to waste a few shots, as long as this wasn’t going to be a prolonged battle.

  As soon as the targeting cross touched the image of the fighter, Han squeezed his firing buttons at full power, strafing his deadly laser across the path of the incoming ship. The Imperial fighter swooped in but could not change its course quickly enough, plowing through the shower of laser bolts.

  The ship erupted into a flame-flower of exploding fuel tanks and expanding atmosphere. Han and Chewbacca shouted their triumph in unison. Even euphoric, Han didn’t sit around patting himself on the back.

  “Let’s go after the other one, Chewie.” The second TIE fighter swerved outward in a long trajectory, then headed back toward Kessel. “Hurry, before those reinforcements can get here.”

  He wondered if perhaps he and Chewbacca shouldn’t turn and flee immediately. But part of him refused to let anybody take pot-shots at the Millennium Falcon and just walk away from it.

  Chewbacca increased speed, closing the gap between the Falcon and the TIE fighter. “Just get me one good shot, Chewie. One good shot.”

  He was in an unmarked modified light freighter—why would the TIE fighters come out shooting at them in the first place? Was it the New Republic ID beacon? What was going on at Kessel? Leia sat around thinking about details like that, analyzing the possibilities, and coming up with scenarios. With her tremendous load of diplomatic duties, she was becoming more and more of a thinker each day, trying to solve things by committee and negotiation. But a political solution wouldn’t work if an Imperial TIE fighter came in shooting at you.

 
Another ship soared up from behind as they chased the TIE fighter toward Kessel. Han shot off a few bursts from his laser, but they all missed; then he turned his attention to the ship tailing them. The Falcon had no operational shields back there.

  Chewbacca called out again from below; then Han got his second surprise for the day. “I see it, I see it!”

  An X-wing fighter approached from the rear, slowly gaining on the Falcon as they neared Kessel. Han took another potshot at the TIE fighter. Even from this distance the X-wing fighter seemed old and battered, as if it had been repaired many times.

  “Chewie, contact the X-wing and tell him we’d appreciate whatever help he can give us.” Han pressed his back against the firing chair and focused his attention on his target.

  The fleeing TIE fighter soared into the wispy tail of atmosphere behind the planet. Han could see a bright pathway as the speed of the ship ionized the gas.

  Then the X-wing fired on the Falcon from behind. The lasers scored a direct hit, incinerating the protruding sensor dish mounted on the top of the ship.

  Han and Chewie shouted at each other, scrambling to figure what to do. Chewbacca took the Falcon into a tight dive closer to the atmosphere of Kessel.

  “Turn us around! Turn us around!” They had to get their unprotected aft section out of the X-wing’s line of fire.

  The X-wing shot again, burning metal on the hull of the Falcon. All the lights went out inside the ship. From the lurch of the cabin Han knew the hit had been a bad one. He could already smell something burning below decks. Emergency lights clicked on.

  “We’ve got to get out of here!”

  Chewbacca barked the Wookiee equivalent of “no kidding.”

  They ducked into the atmospheric tail, buffeted by the suddenly dense gas particles pelting the ship. Around them streamers of heated gas glowed orange and blue. The X-wing came in from behind, still firing.

  Han’s mind raced. They could skim around Kessel in a tight orbit, then slingshot back out of the system. With the black hole cluster so close at hand, no one would risk jumping into hyperspace without intensive prior calculations, and neither he nor Chewie could spare the time to do them.