Dark Apprentice Read online

  the pool began to return to stillness.

  The window to the universe had vanished.

  "Enough for tonight," Luke said, sighing in satisfaction. He heaved

  himself dripping over the lip of the mineral spring and stood. He could

  smell

  sulfurous steam rising from his body as he found the rough folds of his Jedi

  robe piled on the floor. "Think about what you have learned."

  With that the trainees began laughing and congratulating each other. They

  climbed out, one by one. Gantoris assisted Dorsk 81, who thanked him before

  donning his robe. "Next time I will be stronger," Dorsk 81 said in the

  dimness.

  "I know you will be."

  Luke met the dark-haired man as he pulled the robe over his head. "That

  was a good thing you did, Gantoris."

  "It was only heat," Gantoris said, and his voice became grim. "There are

  far worse things than heat." He paused, then spoke as if divulging a secret.

  "Master Skywalker--you are not the dark man who haunted my nightmares on Eol

  Sha. I know that now."

  The confession took Luke aback. He could not see Gantoris's expression in

  the dim light. On Eol Sha, Gantoris had suffered horrifying premonitions,

  but

  he had not spoken of his nightmares since arriving on Yavin 4. Luke tried to

  ask why he had mentioned it now, but the other man turned, gliding past the

  gathered trainees as they made their way back up the gloomy tunnels.

  * * *

  In the humid morning the trainees gathered in the ship-landing area to

  continue their exercises. Mists rose to the crown of the Great Temple.

  Sounds

  of the stirring jungle buzzed around the students as they practiced

  preposterous lessons to improve their supernatural balance, to encourage

  simple feats of levitation.

  Luke paced among them as they attempted the things Yoda had taught him in

  the steamy swamps of Dagobah. He smiled as Kirana Ti and the young

  minstrelsthistorian Tionne joined forces. Laughing and concentrating, the

  two

  women lifted Artoo-Detoo in the air as the little droid puttered about,

  clearing the ever-encroaching weeds from the landing grid. Artoo vented

  electronic beeps and whistles as he floated; his treads spun in the air.

  Behind them Gantoris emerged from the shadowy mouth of the temple,

  striding into the hazy light. Luke turned to watch him approach.

  "Glad you could join us, Gantoris!" he said with a combined touch of good

  humor and scolding as he looked significantly up at how high the orange gas

  giant had risen to fill much of the sky.

  Gantoris's face looked rough and red, as if scorched; tough, smooth skin

  covered his forehead where his eyebrows should have been. He had braided his

  thick black hair into a long strand that hung past his shoulders.

  "I have been preparing for a new test," Gantoris said, and reached into

  the folds of his robe. He removed a black cylinder.

  Luke blinked his eyes in astonishment at seeing a newly constructed

  lightsaber.

  Artoo crashed to the ground with a terrified squeal as both Kirana Ti and

  Tionne lost their concentration. The others ceased their lessons and stared

  in

  astonishment.

  "Fight me, Master Skywalker," Gantoris said. He removed his robe to

  display the padded captain's uniform he had worn as the leader of his people

  on Eol Sha.

  "Where did you get a lightsaber?" Luke asked cautiously, his mind

  whirling. None of his students should have been able to master the

  technology

  or the discipline yet.

  Gantoris fingered the controls on the handle, andwitha loud spitting

  sound the glowing blade extended, a white incandescent core of energy

  fringed

  with deep violet. He moved his wrist, flicking the blade back and forth,

  testing it. A bone-vibrating hum scalded the air. "Isn't it the test of a

  Jedi

  to build his own lightsaber?"

  Luke proceeded carefully. "The lightsaber may seem the simplest of

  weapons, but it is difficult to master. An unpracticed wielder is as likely

  to

  injure himself as his opponent. You aren't ready for this, Gantoris."

  But Gantoris stood like a weathered Massassi colossus, holding the

  blazing edge of his lightsaber vertically in front of his face. "If you

  don't

  ignite your lightsaber and fight me, I will cut you down right here." He

  paused with a smirk. "That would be a rather embarrassing fate for a Jedi

  Master, wouldn't it?"

  Reluctantly, Luke shrugged out of his robe. He pulled his own lightsaber

  from the waist of his comfortable gray flightsuit and, feeling the Force

  thrum

  through him, ignited the yellow-green blade.

  The other trainees watched in amazed silence. Luke wondered how he could

  have miscalculated so greatly, how Gantoris had gained access to information

  that only an advanced student should have obtained.

  He stepped forward, raising his blade. Gantoris stared unblinking. Luke

  saw his red-rimmed eyes burn with a depthless intensity, and he felt a

  twinge

  of fear.

  They crossed blades with a crackle of dissipating power, testing each

  other. He felt the resistance of the energy blades, the flow of the Force.

  He

  and Gantoris struck again, harder this time, and sparks flew.

  Abandoning all pretense of testing, Gantoris launched himself at Luke,

  hacking and slashing with the white-violet saber. Luke blocked each blow,

  but

  fought only defensively to keep from provoking his student.

  Gantoris made no sound as he struck again and again. The lightsabers

  intersected with a flash of multicolored lightning. The fury in Gantoris

  astonished Luke, and he backed toward the jungle's edge, unnerved by the

  violence.

  Gantoris pressed his advantage. Luke blocked away all thoughts of the

  other trainees watching.

  "Am I a Jedi now?" Gantoris asked in a husky voice.

  Luke parried, then blocked another blow, locking both blades in a

  snapping, sizzling spray of discharged energy. He spoke through clenched

  teeth. "Training requires diligence and commitment. And control. A Jedi

  needs

  to know more than how to build a lightsaber. He must also learn how and when

  to use it!"

  Luke drove forward, suddenly taking the offensive. He struck and struck,

  careful not to injure Gantoris but confident in showing his mastery. "The

  lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi Knight, but a true Jedi rarely uses it to

  settle a dispute. It is better to outthink and outmaneuver your opponent.

  But

  when forced, a Jedi strikes quickly and decisively!" He slashed down, hard.

  Clumsily defending himself, Gantoris backed into a tangle of jungle. Dew

  sprayed from underbrush as they trampled stands of climbing ferns. Startled

  flying creatures flapped away with squawks. Gantoris swung and slashed

  wildly

  at Luke's lightsaber, using brute force but no finesse. He bumped against a

  wide-boled Massassi tree, and flakes of purplish bark fell to the ground in

  an

  uneven patter.

>   Luke stood over him, intending to call an end to the duel, but Gantoris's

  eyes blazed brighter. As if springing a trap, he fingered a button on his

  lightsaber handle--and the violet-edged blade suddenly extended like a

  spear,

  flashing outward to nearly double its length.

  Reacting with lightning reflexes, Luke jerked aside, and the point of

  Gantoris's energy blade slashed through the sleeve of his gray flightsuit,

  leaving a smoldering gash.

  He stared at Gantoris in disbelief for a precious fraction of a second.

  Not only had Gantoris built his own lightsaber, but he had constructed a

  blade

  with multiple jewels, allowing him to adjust the amplitude of his blade.

  Such

  a weapon was at least twice as difficult to make as a traditional

  lightsaber,

  and Gantoris had done it by himself!

  Without pausing Gantoris pressed his advantage, lunging with his longer

  blade, knowing that Luke could not come close enough to touch him.

  The thin, wavering voice of Streen called out, "Gantoris!" unheeded by

  Luke or Gantoris. The other students pressed toward the edge of the jungle,

  but this battle was between Luke and Gantoris alone.

  He was dismayed to see the recklessness in Gantoris--it reminded him of

  his own last battle with Darth Vader as the Emperor gloated, encouraging

  Luke

  to feel the anger flow through him. Luke had almost fallen then, almost

  allowed himself to give in to his anger and begin the journey to the dark

  side. But he had been strong enough in the end.

  Gantoris seemed dangerously close to the edge.

  Luke coiled his muscles, gathered his strength, and leaped upward. With a

  boost of his levitating ability, he soared high enough to reach a thick

  lower

  branch of the Massassi tree. He landed gently, keeping his balance as he

  looked down at the outraged Gantoris.

  "How did you learn all this?" Luke called over the hum of lightsabers,

  trying to break through Gantoris's intensity.

  The fiery-tempered man turned his face up, glaring with red-rimmed eyes.

  "You are not the only teacher of the Jedi way!"

  With a low-throated outcry, Gantoris held his lightsaber with both hands

  and slashed sideways, sizzling through the massive trunk of the tree. Sparks

  and smoke and the wet cinnamon smell of scalded sap spilled into the air.

  The

  ancient tree shifted sideways, then crashed through clinging upper branches

  as

  it toppled.

  Luke leaped free and landed easily in a rotting tangle of moss and fallen

  branches. He needed to end this soon. Gantoris seemed possessed by an anger

  he

  could not control, and simple Jedi calming techniques could not reach him.

  Gantoris shortened his blade to a more usable length, matching Luke's as

  he came in for the attack. Luke let his student press him back, through

  climbing ferns and brilliant nebula orchids. He reached out through the

  Force,

  sensing the jungle around them, looking for a useful diversion.

  And found it.

  He faked a stumble against a broken fungus-covered rock and lurched

  sideways toward a thicket. Gantoris charged after him, slashing vines out of

  the way in puffs of gray steam. Gantoris would never hear the burbling

  grunting noises coming from the thicket.

  Luke jumped aside as Gantoris hammered down with his lightsaber. The

  violet-white blade sliced through thorns and interlocked twigs--and a

  startled, outraged beast charged out of the underbrush with an operatic

  range

  of bellows.

  The snorting runyip flailed from side to side as it stampeded past them.

  It was a massive, clumsy creature covered with oily fur and clods of dirt

  stuck to its flexible nose where it had been rooting among the decaying

  vegetation.

  The outburst distracted Gantoris for only a second. But Luke used the

  moment to reach out with the Force. Grasping with invisible hands, he yanked

  the lightsaber handle out of Gantoris's grip and used his skill to push the

  button that deactivated the blade.

  Luke snatched Gantoris's weapon from the air, gripping it with his left

  hand, and switched off his own lightsaber. Suddenly, without the roaring

  hiss

  of dual blades, the jungle seemed disturbingly silent.

  Gantoris stared at him, unmoving. Both of them panted with trembling

  exhaustion. They stood close to each other, within arm's reach. Pearls of

  sweat appeared on their foreheads.

  Reaching his decision, Luke broke the frozen moment. He flipped the

  handle of Gantoris's lightsaber forward and extended it toward the other

  man.

  Gantoris tentatively took his weapon back, glanced at it, then met Luke's

  gaze

  again.

  "Good exercise, Gantoris," Luke said, "but you must learn to control your

  anger. It could be your undoing."

  Through the simmering haze of a security field deep within the steelcrete

  mazes of Coruscant, Kyp Durron looked at the thorn shape of the Sun Crusher.

  He squinted to get a better view, leaning forward until three heavily

  armed New Republic guards strode to bar his way. Within the hangar he could

  see another crew of guards standing around the Sun Crusher itself. Just

  inside

  the electrostatic security field, a huge blast door hung ready to clang down

  at a moment's notice.

  With his small wiry frame, free grin, and tousled dark hair, Kyp didn't

  think he could possibly pose any threat, but the three guards pointed their

  blaster rifles at his chest. "This is a restricted area," the sergeant said.

  "Leave immediately, or we will shoot."

  "Hey, relax," Kyp said, raising his hands. "If I wanted to steal the

  thing, I would never have flown it here in the first place."

  The sergeant looked at him skeptically. It was obvious he didn't have a

  clue what Kyp was talking about.

  "I'm Kyp Durron. I flew the Sun Crusher with Han Solo from Maw

  Installation. I just wanted to have another look."

  The sergeant's stony expression did not change. "I don't know General

  Solo personally," he said, "but I have orders to restrict all access. No

  exceptions."

  Kyp shifted to one side to see between the guards. He disregarded their

  presence, looking again at the angular superweapon that had been developed

  by

  the captive scientist Qwi Xux at Maw Installation.

  Dr. Xux had innocently designed a weapon that could trigger a star to

  explode, wiping out all life in an entire solar system. Qwi had done it as

  an

  exercise to test the limits of her scientific abilities; but Han had broken

  through her brainwashing and made her realize what she had created. Qwi had

  then helped them steal the superweapon and escape from Admiral Daala and Maw

  Installation.

  Kyp was glad the Sun Crusher was now in the hands of the New Republic,

  but it concerned him that the Senate couldn't decide what to do with it. The

  existence of such a powerful weapon seemed to change the attitudes of even

  good people in the government.

  Kyp watched as en
gineers and mechanics attempted to understand how the

  Sun Crusher worked. They used laser-welders against the ultradense quantum-

  plated armor, but nothing could scratch the indestructible craft.

  Two mechanics clambered out of the upper hatch, carrying a metal cylinder

  a meter and a half long and half a meter wide. Three engineers at the bottom

  of the hangar bay craned their necks to look up at the cylinder and dropped

  their hydrospanners in horror. Another engineer put down her precision

  calibrator and backed away very slowly.

  "It's one of the supernova torpedoes!" an engineer said.

  The two mechanics carrying it suddenly froze. Someone sounded a squawking

  alarm. The guards inside the security field ran about looking for targets to

  shoot. The trapped engineers and mechanics screamed for the deadly security

  field to be dropped so they could evacuate. The three guards outside whirled

  and leveled their blaster rifles at Kyp, as if he had become a threat after

  all.

  He laughed. "It's only a message cylinder," he said. "Have them open it

  up--they'll see. It's where the log recorders are kept so vital data can be

  ejected if the Sun Crusher ever gets destroyed."

  But as alarms hammered through the air, and people inside the restricted

  hangar ran around in panic, the guards showed no interest in Kyp's

  explanations. "You'd better leave now, young man. Immediately!" the sergeant

  said.

  Shaking his head, part in amusement and part in annoyance, Kyp circled

  back up the long corridors, wondering how long it would take the supposed

  experts to figure it out.

  Wedge Antilles watched with admiration as the beautiful and ethereal

  alien scientist, Qwi Xux, stepped forward and prepared to address the New

  Republic Assembly.

  Qwi did not like to talk in front of an audience, and she had been

  nervous for days after setting up this speech. A solitary person, she had

  begun to confide in Wedge now that he spent most of his time as her official

  bodyguard and liaison. Wedge had encouraged her in every way, trying to calm

  her, insisting that she would do a wonderful job. He supported her belief

  that

  she could no longer ignore the Sun Crusher.

  Qwi had looked at him gratefully. Her wide indigo eyes were in striking

  contrast to her pale, pale blue skin and the gemlike cap of pearlescent

  feathers that draped from her head down to her shoulders.