Diversity Alliance Read online

  DIVERSITY ALLIANCE

  by

  Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta

  BOULEVARD BOOKS, NEW YORK

  To Steve Sansweet, a fellow Star Wars enthusiast from day one, for your

  friendship and for helping us keep our sense of humor

  acknowledgments

  Writing each volume of the Young Jedi Knights requires a lot of help from

  many different people Sue Rostoni, Allan Kausch, and Lucy Wilson at Lucasfilm

  Licensing; Ginjer Buchanan and Jessica Faust at Boulevard Books; A. C. Crispin

  for helping us create Raynar's parents; Lillie E. Mitchell, Catherine Ulatowski,

  Katie Tyree, and Angela Kato at WordFire, Inc.; and Jonathan Cowan, our first

  test-reader.

  A special thanks to all of the fans and devoted readers who have enjoyed

  this series so much and urged us to tell the further adventures of Jacen, Jaina,

  Tenel Ka, and Lowbacca. Your enthusiasm and support give us the energy we need

  to write these stories.

  THE RAGTAG GROUP of ships drifted through space, maintaining silence,

  broadcasting no telltale signal that could give away their location.

  This assortment of merchant vessels, scout cruisers, and security ships had

  been cobbled together over the course of two decades by the noble Thul family of

  Alder-aanto form a trading fleet. Since most of the family had been off-planet

  when Alder-aan was destroyed, the Thuls had moved to Coruscant, the commercial

  and governmental center of the galaxy. Through shrewd investments, they had

  built the remnants of their ancient wealth into Bornaryn Trading, a powerful

  galactic company with a steady flow of cargo and burgeoning business on

  countless routes.

  At the moment, though, the merchant fleet had no known destination.

  The vessels huddled close together in an empty space between the stars,

  keeping themselves safe. Security starfighters flitted protectively along the

  edges of the convoy, while the other craft clustered in the center like a school

  of nervous glim-merfish.

  On the Tradewyn, the flagship of the Bomaryn fleet, Aryn Dro Thul stood

  proudly on the observation deck. She wore a simple gown of midnight blue shot

  with silver that complemented her braided chestnut hair.

  A sash of scarlet, yellow, orange, and purple was tied loosely about her

  waist. Though slight of build, Aryn projected an air of dignity that often

  fooled those she met into thinking her a tall woman.

  As she stared through the main windowport, her intelligent blue eyes kept

  watch on the cargo vessels, fleet skimmers, security shuttles, and scout drones

  she and Bornan Thul had assembled for their business.

  Now, with the disappearance of her husband, all responsibility for Bornaryn

  Trading rested on her shoulders. Aryn turned to her brother-in-law, who stood

  beside her on the deck of the Tradewyn. Tyko Thul was a powerful merchant who

  had made his fortune in droid manufacturing. Though he was a calculating and

  sometimes pompous man, she was glad of his support during this time of crisis.

  "Is there any word yet on my husband?"

  Aryn asked. "A coded message perhaps? We must find some trace of him soon."

  Tyko scratched his short blond hair with one hand, and his shrewd hazel

  eyes narrowed in concentration. "No, Aryn--there's been no sign of Bornan. He

  has simply disappeared." A frown creased his round face, so deeply that furrows

  appeared in his rosy cheeks and his chin.

  "I don't know if this is a new kind of scam he's pulling, or what he hopes

  to gain... but I wish he'd make some sort of contact with us."

  Aryn paced the deck of the flagship, looking out the broad windowports at

  two of the heavily armed security starfighters dashing back and forth,

  crisscrossing the convoy perimeter to guard against external attack.

  "You're so skeptical, Tyko," she said. "I don't think it's anything of the

  sort. Bor nan's been kidnapped, or hurt... or even killed."

  Tyko shook his head. "I'm being skeptical?

  At least I'm thinking he might still be alive and all right. I know my

  brother, Aryn. He's probably run across something valuable and wants to keep it

  all for himself."

  "Not Bornan," Aryn said, her blue eyes flashing with anger.

  "I'm positive that someone has taken him, and I'm certain we're all in

  danger. The whole family."

  Tyko placed a fleshy hand on his sister-in-law's shoulder, squeezing it in

  a vain attempt to reassure her. "If I didn't believe you might be right, Aryn,

  I'd never have left Mechis III to be here with you. It's taken me a long time to

  get the droid manufacturing facilities up and running there again, you know. I

  think they're all fully functional now. That strange programming glitch Mechis

  III suffered during Imperial days has been completely purged from the system, so

  I suppose my assistants can handle it, for the moment."

  He gave her a small smile. "I'd rather be here with you and the fleet...

  where it's safe."

  Tyko went to a console to study their random flight path as one of the

  private security guards marched onto the observation deck. "Excuse me, Lady

  Aryn," the guard said, clearing his throat. "We've been at these coordinates for

  as long as we feel it's advisable."

  She sighed. "Thank you, Kusk. Time for another hyperspace jump, then?"

  Kusk nodded. "Yes, if you intend to keep the location of our fleet

  absolutely secret.

  We are currently at risk if we stay here."

  "Not just yet." Aryn turned to Tyko, folding her slender hands together.

  She pressed her pale lips into a grim line. Her husband had always said he could

  tell when she had made up her mind and did not intend to change it. "I feel

  uncomfortable knowing that my son Raynat is out in the open. Perhaps he is in

  danger."

  Tyko gave a.dismissive wave. "He's safe enough at the Jedi academy. Luke

  Sky-walker wouldn't dare let any harm come to him."

  "No one can protect my son better than I can," Aryn insisted.

  "I'm going to contact Yavin 4. I'll ask Raynar to come to our fleet, so we

  can all be together. I want him where I can see him, at least until this whole..

  . situation is over."

  Tyko blew air between his generous lips and shook his head wearily.

  "Skywalker can protect him with the Force. I'm sure he's quite reliable."

  "Yes, he is," Aryn said. "That's why I'll request that the Jedi Master

  personally escorts Raynar safely to our fleet."

  Tyko knew when to give up his objections.

  "All right," he said. "It'll be good to have the whole family together

  again."

  Aryn looked at him sternly. "The whole family won't be together again until

  my husband is found."

  "Oh yes. Yes, of course," Tyko said. "I forgot about that."

  Aryn turned to the security guard, who was still waiting patiently at the

  door to the observation deck. "Plot a new course, Kusk," she said, "and prepare

  to launch our fleet into hype
rspace--but first establish a communications link

  to the Jedi academy. I need to speak directly with Master Luke Skywalker."

  After a hard day of studies, meditation, and training exercises, Jacen Solo

  left the Great Temple and went off into the dense jungle to be by himself.

  His sister Jaina and their Wookiee friend Lowbacca were busy working on the

  Rock Dragon, tinkering with the Hapan passenger cruiser's engines--not so much'

  because the ship needed the work, but because the two mechanically inclined

  young Jedi Knights enjoyed the tinkering.

  Tenel Ka, who technically owned the ship, preferred instead to be out

  running, doing her exercises, toning up her body and keeping her muscles at

  their peak performance. Ever since she had lost her arm in a lightsaber dueling

  accident, Tenel Ka had taken to swimming in the river as often as she could.

  Jacen loved to spend time with the warrior girl, but he couldn't keep up

  with her calisthenics. Instead, he preferred to go off into the jungle, because

  it gave him an opportunity to look for interesting plants or insects or animal

  specimens he could take back and keep in the small menagerie of pets he studied

  and then set free. Back in his quarters, in an incubator built' by Jaina, he

  also carefully nurtured the fertilized gort egg his father had given him.

  Soon, he thought, the precious egg would hatch, and he would have an

  unusual pet.

  For now, though, he walked through the underbrush in search of various

  colors of the polished button beetles. He had discovered a nearly intact nest

  under some broken rocks blasted from the Great Temple during the recent Shadow

  Academy attack, and he wanted to complete his collection of specimens.

  Instead, as he parted a stand of tall ferns and stepped into a clearing,

  Jacen saw another young Jedi trainee, Raynat, sitting alone on a rock. He found

  this quite unusual, since the young man usually avoided the jungles, preferring

  to remain inside more "civilized" areas. Raynar's brightly colored robes were as

  multihued and iridescent as an entire swarm of button beetles. He sat with his

  hands on his robed knees.

  Jacen grinned and waved. he'd been working harder at being friendly to

  Raynar since the boy's family problems had begun.

  "Hi, Raynar. What are you doing?"

  Raynar turned, startled by Jacen's arrival.

  "Nothing."

  Jacen laughed. "There's usually a lot more than nothing going on, when

  someone says 'nothing.'" "All right," Raynar said with a sigh.

  "I was meditating... using the Force to reach out with my mind. I thought

  maybe I could find out something about where my father went."

  "Still no word, then?" Jacen asked.

  Sadly, the blond-haired boy shook his head and stared down at his hands.

  Though New Republic Security Forces and the bounty hunter Boba Fett--and who

  knew how many others--were searching the galaxy for him, Bornan Thul had not

  been found.

  Jacen felt uncomfortable when someone else was in trouble or dejected and

  there was. nothing he could do about it. Although he often resorted to telling

  jokes, he knew this was probably not a good time to try that. "I wish there was

  something we could do to help," he said.

  "If I can think of something, I'll definitely ask you, then," Raynar

  answered, looking slightly relieved, though not too hopeful.

  He forced a smile. A small one... but it was a smile nevertheless.

  When Jacen and Raynar returned together to the Great Temple, the workers

  had just finished restoring part of the hangar bay that had collapsed during the

  Imperial attack. New Republic engineers had pitched in with the large-scale

  work, while military ships hovered in orbit over the jungle moon to protect

  against any further attacks from space.

  Arms crossed over his chest, Luke Sky-walker leaned against the Rock Dragon

  and watched Jacen and Raynar as they approached.

  Jaina and Lowbacca sat beside the repaired passenger shuttle.

  Jacen waved. "Hi, Uncle Luke."

  "I've got a message from Raynar's mother," Luke said.

  The boy from Alderaan instantly perked up and hurried over. "What is it?"

  Raynar asked. "Is there news?"

  "Not exactly," Luke said. "But she would like me to escort you to her fleet

  so you can be together during the search for your father.

  She thinks it's best for your. personal safety."

  "The fleet? Well, well, well..." Raynar frowned. "But how would I get

  there? If we're worried that someone will try to kidnap me as well as my father,

  I can't just " "I guess we could take you," Jacen said.

  "The Rock Dragon looks like a normal ship, so nobody would suspect

  anything."

  "Thanks for offering," Luke said, "but I'm afraid Raynar's mother was quite

  insistent: I have to escort him personally. The Shadow Chaser has quantum armor-

  to shield us from any attack, and I can help guard him with my jedi skills."

  "But what am I supposed to do when I get there?" the young man said,

  tugging at his colorful robes. "I need to continue my Jedi training and develop

  my skills. I can't be of any help to my father if I'm stuck in isolation with

  the fleet."

  "Hey, we could go along, Uncle Luke," Jacen suggested, still trying to find

  a way to help. "We'll work on our exercises together.

  Besides, Raynar needs friends with him right now."

  Raynat looked at Jacen skeptically, and then at the other young Jedi

  Knights. "You'd do that you'd all come along with me?"

  "This is a fact," Tenel Ka said.

  "Sure," Jaina said. "We haven't always

  been very friendly to you, but maybe this is a good time to change that."

  Lowie rumbled his enthusiastic endorsement of the plan.

  "I think that's a terrific idea," Luke said.

  "Good," Jaina answered, slamming an access hatch on the outside of the Rock

  Dragon and fastening it. "Then what are we waiting for?"

  Lowbacca growled a comment, and Jaina nodded. "The Rock Dragon's ready to

  go when the rest of you are."

  ON THE HELLISH world of Ryloth, half of the planet broiled under sunlight

  hot enough to soften rock, while the other side crackled with a cold so intense

  it would make a glacier shiver.

  The Twileks, the only sentient beings ever to make a long-term home there,

  had settled in the narrow band of shadow between daylight and darkness. In this

  twilight region, surface temperatures above ground remained hospitable enough to

  support life, but the Twi'leks preferred to build shelters by burrowing into the

  mountain ranges.

  They'd carved great warrens, cities beneath the ground, where their clan

  system had evolved into a complex male-dominated political structure that had

  remained unchanged for thousands of years.

  Until the Twi'lek woman Nolaa Tarkona had implemented sweeping changes

  through a swift wave of bloodshed.

  Forming the Diversity Alliance had been her key to freedom and power. She

  was the political movement's outspoken and charismatic leader, uniting

  downtrodden alien species that had suffered for so long under human domination.

  Now Nolaa held the deepest, most defensible chambers beneath the mountains,

  and had set u
p her headquarters there.

  After her rise to power, her followers had excavated an underground

  spaceport adjacent to the grotto that allowed her powerful allies direct access

  to Ryloth, and from there, out to the galaxy at large.

  The Twi'lek leader sat in her cool, expanded grotto, a throne room of

  sorts. She had a great deal of work to do. Managing a galaxy-wide political

  movement required constant effort, concentration, and vigilance.

  Here, deep underground, she had to rely on chronometers and assistants to

  tell her when it was time to stop working and begin the sleeping period. Of

  late, though, she had curtailed her rest hours.

  Plans she had set in motion continued to brew; their demands weighed

  heavily upon her, and she had far too many obligations to bother with sleep. If

  her revolution failed and she was killed, then she could sleep for all eternity.

  Nolaa sat comfortably in her stone chair, not allowing the seething

  thoughts and emotions inside to show though her facade of outward 'calm. In a

  sense, the rich red lighting in this room spoke for her.. It reflected the deep-

  seated anger and thirst for revenge that boiled in her heart, and the multitude