Heirs of the Force Read online

  Jacen flexed his fingers and shook out his hands. His nerves tingled

  and stung with returning circulation.

  The Imperial soldier pointed the blaster at them, gesturing for the

  twins to move. "Back to the TIE fighter," he ordered. "Work."

  Jacen and Jaina trudged through the jungle, stumbling through vines and

  shrubs; the TIE pilot followed directly behind them.

  They reached the site of the crashed ship, where it lay uncovered and

  glinting in the early morning light. With a knot forming in his

  stomach, Jacen saw burned patches from where Qorl had shot his blaster

  at Tenel Ka and Lowie.

  "I know you are nearly finished with repairs," the TIE pilot said.

  "I have been watching you for days. You will complete them today."

  Jaina blinked her brandy-brown eyes and scowled at him. "We can't

  possibly work that fast, especially with just the two of us. This ship

  has been crashed for twenty years. We haven't finished cleaning the

  debris from the sublight intakes. The power converters all need to be

  rewired."

  Jacen watched his sister and knew she was lying.

  "Cyberfuses still need to be installed," she continued. "The

  air-exchange system is clogged; it needs to be-" Qorl raised the

  blaster, but did not alter the emotion in his voice. "Today," he

  repeated.

  "You will finish today."

  "Oh, blaster bolts! I think he means it, Jaina," Jacen muttered. "Show

  me what I can do to help."

  Jaina sighed. "All right. Collect the box of tools you tripped over

  yesterday. Get the hydrospanner. I'll use my multitool to finish some

  calibrations here in the engines. )I Qorl sat down on a lumpy,

  lichenencrusted boulder, using his good hand to brush crawling insects

  from his legs. The Imperial soldier waited like a droid sentinel,

  unmoving, watching them work. Jacen tried to ignore him-and the

  blaster.

  Gnats and biting insects swarmed around Jacen's face, attracted by the

  sweat in his tangled hair. He passed tools to his sister, trying to

  find the components and equipment Jaina needed as she crawled and

  rummaged in the TIE fighter's engine compartment.

  He could sense Jaina's growing anger and frustration. She couldn't

  think of a plan. Yes, Jacen supposed, they could simply sabotage the

  ship repairs-but Qorl would realize what they'd done almost immediately,

  and he would get even with them. They couldn't risk that.

  Now Jacen wished that his sister, in all her excitement, hadn't

  installed the new hyper drive unit their dad had given her. He wished

  that they all hadn't worked so hard, made so much progress. Now it was

  almost too late.

  Jacen brushed a hand across his forehead, blinking sweat away. His

  stomach growled.

  He turned to the TIE pilot, sitting nearby on the rock, still pointing

  the blaster barrel directly at him. The threat was getting tiresome.

  "Qorl," he said, intentionally using their captor',s real name. "Could

  we have some water and more fruit? We're hungry. We'll work better if

  we're not hungry."

  Qorl nodded slightly and began to stand up. But then he froze,

  hesitated, and settled back into his rigid position. "Food and water

  when you are finished with repairs."

  "What? " Jacen said in dismay. "But that could take all day."

  "Then you will be hungry and thirsty," Oorl said. The TIE pilot looked

  somewhat anxious, impatient. "You are stalling. Proceed."

  Jacen realized that Qorl might be worried that either Tenel Ka or Lowie

  had managed to get back to the Jedi academy and summoned help. They were

  a long distance from the Great Temple, across a treacherous jungle . .

  . but there was always a chance.

  Jaina finished adjusting a cooling system regulator. She twisted a

  knob; a cold, bright blast of supercooled steam screeched up, making

  feathers of frost on the exposed metal surface. She stepped back and

  rubbed a grimy hand across her cheek, leaving a dark stain beneath her

  liquid-brown eyes.

  "Qorl?" she said. "Who are you going to see when you get back?"

  "I will report for duty," he said.

  "Are you going home? Do you have a family?"

  "The Empire is my family." His answer was rapid, automatic.

  "But do you have a family that loves you?"

  Jaina asked.

  Oorl hesitated for the briefest moment, then gestured threateningly with

  the blaster.

  "Get back to work."

  Jaina sighed and motioned for her brother to help her. "Come on, Jacen.

  Take those last packages of surface metal sealant," she said.

  "We need to reinforce the melt spots on the outer hull." She pointed to

  three stained and vaporized bull's-eye spots on the TIE fighter's outer

  plating-damage Oorl himself had caused the day before by firing his

  blaster at the twins.

  With a cushioned hammer, Jaina pounded the bent plates back into

  position. Jacen dug into the toolbox until he found a packet of

  animated metal sealant. The special paste would crawl across the

  damaged area, smooth itself, and then seal down with a bond even

  stronger than the original hull alloy. Jacen applied one packet of the

  patch material and listened to it hiss and steam as it coated the burn

  spot. Jaina fixed the second spot.

  The third melted area lay high on the cargo compartment, close to the

  open transparisteel canopy that protected the cockpit. Jacen took the

  last pack and crawled atop the small craft. He popped the seal, applied

  the patch, and waited for the animated sealant to do its work.

  As he watched the gooey substance finish its repairs, Jacen heard small

  creatures stirring around him. He sensed something nearby and, looking

  down into the cargo space, saw a glimmer of movement, almost

  transparent, barely noticeable. Jacen's heart leaped. He leaned down,

  reaching deep into the TIE fighter, and grabbed for it. Hope began to

  fill him.

  "Boy, get out of there!" Oorl yelled. "Come back where I can see you."

  Panting, his heart pounding, Jacen pulled himself free. He backed away

  from the cockpit and jumped to the ground, keeping his hands clearly in

  sight.

  Jaina bent over and whispered to him with concern in her eyes. "What are

  you doing?

  What did you find in there?"

  Jacen grinned at her, then recovered his expression before Oorl could

  notice it.

  "Something that might save us all."

  "No more talking," Qorl snapped. "Hurry."

  "We're doing the best we can," Jaina replied.

  "Not good enough," the pilot said. "Do you need encouragement? If you

  cannot complete repairs faster, I will shoot your brother.

  Then you will complete the repairs by yourself."

  Both Jacen and Jaina looked at the TIE pilot in shock. "Qorl, you

  wouldn't do that," Jaina said.

  "I received my training from the Empire," Qorl answered. "I will do

  what is necessary."

  Jacen swallowed-he knew the TIE pilot was telling the truth. "Yeah, I'll

  bet you would," he said.

  With a sigh and an expression of disgust, Jaina stood up and tossed the

  hydro
spanner onto a pile of tools on the jungle floor. She brushed her

  hands down her thighs, wiping grime on the legs of her jumpsuit.

  "Never mind," she said. "It's finished.

  We've done everything we can. The TIE fighter is ready to fly again."

  ----------------INSIDE THE TORCHLIT temples of the Jedi academy,

  Lowbacca bellowed in confusion and alarm. He waved his lanky, hairy

  arms to emphasize the urgency of the situation. He didn't know how to

  make them understand him; he only knew he had to warn them of the TIE

  fighter, had to get help for Jacen and Jaina and Tenel Ka.

  Tionne and the other Jedi candidates around her grew agitated. None of

  them could speak the Wookiee language. "Lowbacca, we can't understand

  you," she said.

  "Where is your translator droid?"

  Lowie patted his hip again and made a distressed sound. He'd have never

  imagined he'd be so upset not to have the jabbering droid at his side.

  "Where are Jacen, Jaina, and Tenel Ka?"

  Tionne asked. "Are they all right?"

  Lowbacca bellowed again and gestured out into the jungle, trying to

  explain everything.

  "Was there an accident? Are they hurt?"

  Tionne asked. Her mother-of-pearl eyes were wide and her silver hair

  flowed about her as if it were alive. With her long, delicate hands,

  she clutched Lowie's fur-red arm.

  Her voice had been so calm and silky when she sang Jedi ballads to the

  gathered students in the grand audience chamber. Now her words had a

  hard, crystalline edge, the forcefulness of a true Jedi Knight.

  Lowbacca tried to think of how to explain, but his growing frustration

  made it more and more difficult. He had no words they could understand.

  Yes, he could gesture back toward the jungle-but how to describe a

  crashed TIE fighter? A surviving Imperial pilot? The twins taken

  hostage?

  The young Jedi Knights had kept their little project completely secret

  while they were making repairs to the crashed ship. Jaina had wanted

  the revamped craft to be a surprise she could show off to the other

  trainees. But now having kept it a secret was working against them. No

  one could guess what he was talking about; no one knew about the crash

  site.

  He didn't know what had happened to Tenel Ka, either. Had she been

  killed, or had she somehow escaped? Was she even now lost in the

  jungles by herself, being stalked by predators? He moaned in dismay.

  Unable to restrain himself, Lowie rattled off the whole story in loud

  Wookiee grunts and roars. Everyone around him grew agitated, unable to

  decipher a word he was saying. Finally, his frustration got the best of

  him: Lowie pounded his fists on one of the stone walls and pushed past

  Tionne and the other Jedi candidates into the cool shadows of the Great

  Temple.

  "Where are you going, Lowbacca?" Tionne called, but he didn't answer

  her.

  Though Lowie was still tired, the others could not catch up with him.

  With only the slightest limp, his long, muscular legs carried him down

  the winding corridors of the ancient stone ruin. Breathless, he reached

  the room that had been the old command center when the temple served as

  a Rebel base. Luke Skywalker maintained it to keep contact with the

  rest of the New Republic.

  He knew his uncle Chewbacca was still in the Yavin system, near the

  orange gas giant where Lando Calrissian had set up his orbiting mining

  facility for Corusca gems. If only Lowie could get in touch with the

  Millennium Falcon, speak to his uncle, he could explain everything

  directly. Chewbaccaalong with Jacen and Jaina's father, Han Solo-would

  know just what to do.

  With a loud sigh of relief, Lowie sank into a chair in front of a

  console. The station was filled with the only things in the Jedi

  academy that seemed familiar to him at this moment: the computers and

  electronic equipment.

  He knew exactly how to communicate with them.

  Lowbacca worked the controls with speed and determination, tapping his

  clawed fingers over the appropriate buttons. He had already established

  an open channel to the Falcon by the time Tionne and the others caught

  up with him in the Communications Center.

  Tionne immediately realized what he was -doing, and she nodded. "Good

  idea, Lowbacca!" She waited beside the young Wookiee as a

  sleepy-sounding Han Solo answered the call.

  "Yeah, this is Solo. Who's calling? Luke. is this the Jedi academy?"

  Lowbacca bleated into the microphone pickup, hoping the human pilot

  would understand him.

  Tionne leaned over next to Lowbacca before he could continue and spoke

  into the voice pickup. "Something has happened here, General Solo. The

  twins and Tenel Ka have disappeared, and Lowbacca is trying to tell us

  what happened. But he can't make us understand him. He's lost his

  translator droid."

  With a roar of surprise, Chewbacca came on the line. Excited, Lowie

  once again explained everything as fast as he could in the Wookiee

  language. Chewbacca roared back in outrage, and Han broke in.

  "Quiet, old buddy. I heard most of that, but a few of the details were

  sketchy. Something about a crashed TIE fighter and an Imperial soldier

  taking them hostage?"

  Both Wookiees made loud sounds of agreement.

  "Okay, sit tight. We're on our way!" Han said. "We can undock from

  Lando's station in just a few seconds. We were ready to get out of here

  anyway. The Falcon'll be there in about two hours-middle of the local

  morning, I think. Just hold on and get ready to help me fight for the

  kids!"

  Lowie and Chewbacca both bellowed in agreement. Tionne looked at the

  young Wookiee in amazement. "A TIE fighter! Imperials here? Quick, we

  must get everyone ready in case they attack."

  With a searing white flicker from its aft sublight engines, the

  Millennium Falcon cruised through the deep blue atmosphere toward the

  ancient Massassi structures.

  Lowie stood in the open landing area in front of the Great Temple,

  anxious to see his uncle.

  He waved his shaggy arms for the ship as it approached.

  The bright light of morning grew warmer with each passing minute. The

  two hours it had taken for the Millennium Falcon to leave the Yavin gas

  giant and approach the jungle moon had seemed the longest of Lowie's

  life.

  Now he stepped back into the shade of the temple as the Falcon settled

  to the ground with hissing bursts of its repulsorlift engines.

  The landing pads settled and stabilized, and then the boarding ramp came

  down like an opening mouth.

  Chewbacca bounded down the ramp, ducking his hairy head to keep from

  bumping the low ceiling, and headed toward the temple. Lowie ran to

  meet him halfway, limping slightly. Han Solo charged out and joined

  them, his blaster already drawn.

  "Ready to rescue the kids? Let's go!" Han said. Tionne and several

  of the other Jedi candidates hurried out. Han looked around.

  "Where's Luke? Isn't he back yet?"

  "Master Skywalker isn't here," Tionne said.

  "We have to defend ourse
lves."

  "We'll take care of it," Han said. "Lando gave us some extra weapons,

  and all our laser cannon banks are charged. Lowie, can you show us

  where they're being held?"

  Lowbacca nodded his shaggy head.

  "If there are any more Imperial TIE fighters around," Han said, "the

  most important thing you can do is guard the Jedi academy, Tionne.

  This would be their obvious target.

  The Empire doesn't particularly like the New Republic getting another

  batch of Jedi Knights."

  "We'll be here to defend the academy, General Solo," Tionne said. "You

  find the children."

  "All right, Lowie," Han said. "Let's go-no time to waste."

  ----------------THE ROAR OF twin ion engines shattered the deep

  stillness of the jungle morning as the TIE fighter returned to life.

  Birds squawked in terror and fled into the high branches. Dust and dry,

  crumbling leaves scattered in clouds around the Imperial ship.

  Encased in the cockpit, Oorl throttled up the power, slowly, gently, as

  if feeling it grow at his fingertips. Foul brownish exhaust spat out of

  the clogged vent ports in the rear of the single-fighter craft. The

  Imperial ship growled, ready for action again after its long retirement.