Jedi Under Siege Page 3

  chamber, Jaina was already there talking in a low voice with Luke and

  Tenel Ka while the other students sat in frightened silence.

  A look of relief washed over Luke's face when he saw that Lowie had

  returned s-cessfully from his mission. Tionne stretched out her hand

  toward Luke, and he gave it a brief squeeze.

  'I'm glad you're safe," Luke said.

  "What did Mom say?" Jacen asked his sister.

  Jaina bit her lower lip, and Tenel Ka

  ^ answered for her. "The Shadow Academy is jamming our transmissions. We

  were unable to send our distress signal."

  Jacen felt the blood drain out of his face.

  How long would it be, then, until reinforcements arrived, if they

  couldn't even send a distress call?

  Luke spoke in a loud voice, addressing the gathered Jedi students. "We

  can't rely on outside help to save us. We must fight this battle

  ourselves. I believe the Great Temple will be the initial target of

  attack. Tenel Ka has already briefed you on ground tactics, so we're

  going to move this battle to the jungle-where the territory will be new

  for the Shadow Academy's troops, but familiar to us. We'll fight them

  one-on-one.

  "But we must evacuate the Jedi academy immediately."

  -----------------FROM THE SHADOW Academy's crowded hangar bay, Zekk

  watched the final preparations for the attack. The frenzy of bustling

  troops, mixed with their brooding anger and lust for destruction,

  galvanized him. He felt as if the lines of Force around him had been set

  on fire.

  The hub of the activity was an immense hovering battle platform that

  dominated the hangar bay. Constructed specifically for this most

  important assault on the Rebel Alliance, the movable tactical platform

  bristled with weaponry. Stormtroopers crawled over its armored surface,

  preparing to launch. Guided by the ominous Nightsister Tamith Kai, the

  platform would be the staging point for the ground combat, Jedi versus

  Jedi.

  At the battle platform's helm she stood, eager for vengeance. Her long

  black cape slithered around her with a hissing sound, like snakes coming

  out to strike. Spines, ^

  ^ taken from the carapace of a murderous giant insect, protruded from

  her shoulders.

  Her black hair curled around her head like ebony wires, writhing and

  crackling with dark powers, each strand seemingly alive and malevolent.

  Tamith Kai's violet eyes burned as she ordered the stonntroopers to

  board the battle platform, gathering her inner power. Her onyx-scaled

  armor clung to her muscular, well-formed body. Her demeanor spoke of

  power and confidence-and a yearning for destruction.

  Zekk tended to his own duties. He himself had been a target of Tamith

  Kai's suspicious thoughts. The Nightsister didn't trust him.

  She felt that his commitment to the dark side wasn't strong enough, that

  he was blinded by his former friendship with the Jedi twins, Jacen and

  Jaina Solo.

  Zekk had been trained as the prize student of Lord Brakiss, and had

  defeated the Nightsister's own prot6g6 Vilas in a duel to the death. By

  winning the duel, Zekk had gained the title of Darkest Knight. And

  Tamith Kai-perhaps because she was simply a sore loser, or perhaps

  because she sensed his flickering doubts-rarely let him out of her

  sight.

  ^ But Brakiss had given him command of the Shadow Academy's new

  Force-wielders who would be the vanguard of the battle to reclaim the

  galaxy. He himself would lead the Dark Jedi strike force, dropping like

  death from the skies to obliterate Master Skywalker's trainees.

  Zekk drew a deep breath, smelled the metallic tang in the cold air. He

  heard coolants pumping, engines powering up, the clatter of stormtrooper

  armor, preparatory signals as systems were locked down. They were ready

  to launch.

  Zekk turned to his group of Force-talented warriors. He wore his

  crimson-lined black cape and his leather armor; his lightsaber hung

  clipped at his side, waiting to be used.

  He had secured his long dark hair in a neat ponytail, and his

  emerald-green eyes flashed at those gathered around him.

  "Feel the Force move through you," he said to the other trainees. They

  stood with their jaws set, their eyes alert, eager for battle. They had

  been trained for this.

  He gestured to the waiting platform, and the Dark Jedi moved with a

  fluid motion as they entered the armored vessel. "We must strike the

  Jedi academy now, before we lose our element of surprise."

  m

  ^ The TIE pilot's helmet fit perfectly on his gray-haired head. Along

  with the breathing mask, goggles, black flight suit, padded gloves, and

  heavy boots, the uniform seemed to transport Qorl back to a different

  time, a time when he had been much younger . . . a pilot for the first

  Empire.

  Years ago, he had flown with his wing of TIE fighters from the original

  Death Star to attack the desperate fleet of Rebel X-wings.

  He had been shot down in combat, spiralling down to crash-land in the

  wilds of Yavin 4. When he had looked behind him, to his absolute horror

  and disbelief Qorl had watched the invincible Death Star blow up,

  leaving him stranded on the miserable little moon.

  After recovering from his injuries, Qorl had lived like a hermit for

  over twenty years until four young Jedi trainees had stumbled upon him .

  . . setting in motion the events that had returned him to the Second

  Imperium.

  And now, Qorl found himself boarding another TIE fighter, launching from

  another battle station-once more ready to defeat the Rebels. This time,

  though, he was

  ^ sure it would end differently. This time the Empire would make no

  mistakes.

  Qorl stood in front of his wing of twelve TIE fighters. Crowded into the

  side of the launching bay, the small fighters would take off as soon as

  the battle platform descended.

  He turned to his troops, all of them unproven fighters, taken from the

  ranks of the most ambitious new stormtrooper trainees.

  The new pilots had never seen combat. They had only practiced,

  performing simulation after simulation-but he knew they were itching for

  a real fight. The pilots stood beside their ships, clothed in identical

  black flight suits and helmets.

  One new pilot fidgeted with obvious eagerness, glancing toward his TIE

  fighter, studying the laser cannon turrets, anxious to be off. He

  finally stepped forward. The fighter removed his helmet and held it

  against his chest. Even before seeing the young man's wide face, though,

  Qorl knew it was the broad-shouldered Norys, former leader of the Lost

  Ones gang.

  "Excuse me, sir-I have a suggestion," Norys said. "In light of my

  superior performance during the simulations, since I scored better than

  any of these others, I think I should be the one to lead this wing."

  ^ Qorl quelled his anger. "I . . . understand your reasons, Norys. You

  have done excellent work in your cross-training as a TIE pilot and

  stormtrooper. You are eager to learn and, Presumably, to serve the

&nb
sp; Second Imperium.

  But I must turn down your request this time."

  'On what basis?" Sensing the challenge in the young man's voice, Qorl

  kept his answer firm and direct.

  "On the basis that Brakiss chose me to command this mission. If you

  prefer not to follow orders, however . . ." He shrugged, leaving the

  implication hanging in the air between them.

  The boy was rude and so often insubordinate that if he hadn't shown such

  a true aptitude for weaponry and fighting skills, Qorl would certainly

  have left him behind.

  Too much was at stake in this mission to allow an overeager young man to

  botch things UPNorys flushed. "I think you are afraid, Qorl. You're old

  and haven't flown a mission in years. You're leading the wing so you can

  hold us back to cover your own failures."

  "That will be all," Qorl said in a voice that, although quiet, was so

  commanding that the air cracked with tension. "I give you the choice:say

  the word and III ground you from this mission, or hold your tongue and

  fight for your Emperor." At the moment Qorl didn't care what the surly

  young man chose.

  He would gladly take a smaller fighting wing if it was the only way to

  ensure that all his pilots were well disciplined.

  Fuming, Norys struggled to keep silent and rammed the black helmet back

  onto his head.

  Qorl spoke, more to divert attention from the outburst than for any

  other reason. "We have successfully jammed all signals from the Jedi

  academy. They are unable to call for reinforcements. Since no

  battleships are in orbit, the foolish Jedi Knights must have assumed

  that their own powers and their puny energy shield would be enough to

  thwart us.

  "According to our monitoring systems, our first Imperial commando raid

  has already succeeded in removing their shields. The Jedi academy lies

  open and vulnerable to our attack.

  "When Tamith Kai launches her battle platform to guide the military

  strike, Lord Zekk will take his Dark Jedi trainees and combat the Jedi

  Knights directly. Our wing will fly harassment strikes from the air.

  Although we are meant to cause consider42 able damage, our mission is

  to support, not to serve as the front line of attack. Is that

  understood?"

  The pilots murmured their understanding. Qorl couldn't tell if Norys's

  voice had joined them.

  "Very well. To your ships," he said.

  His pilots scrambled into their cockpits, and Qorl settled in behind the

  pilot's controls of the lead TIE fighter. He drew a deep breath through

  the filtering mask, smelling the delicious and familiar chemical taint

  of the air from his tanks.

  He smiled. It felt so good to be able to fly once again.

  From the helm of the tactical battle platform Tamith Kai shouted, 'Let

  us be off. We shall return victorious before this day is done!"

  The great hangar bay doors opened, revealing the blackness of space

  shared with the emerald moon, behind which loomed the boiling orange

  cauldron of the gas giant Yavin. The moon looked insignificant against

  the panorama of the universe-but it was the Shadow Academy's target,

  destined to become the site of a furious battle and an Imperial victory.

  ^ Tamith Kai commanded the battle platform to rise up on its

  repulsorlifts and head out of the Shadow Academy. The military vessel

  appeared to be a large, flattened sailbarge with rounded corners, two

  levels high, with an upper command deck that would open to the air once

  they reached the atmosphere. Armed stormtroopers and ground assault

  forces filled the first level, while Zekk and his Dark Jedi took their

  positions in the bottom bay near the drop doors.

  The battle platform descended through space toward the thin fingernail

  of atmosphere around the green moon. As the minutes passed, Zekk paced

  back and forth.

  He looked out the viewports and saw the ring station high overhead,

  dwindling as the battle platform increased speed toward Yavin 4.

  "Packs ready?" he asked, adjusting the equipment strapped across his

  chest and back. His black cape hung over it, its scarlet inner lining

  flashing as he moved. His squad of Dark Jedi checked their weapons,

  scores of identical hghtsabers manufactured aboard the Shadow Academy.

  The team members adjusted their repulsorpacks on their shoulders. One by

  one they declared their readiness.

  ^ The blackness of space was streaked with white haze as the battle

  platform plunged headfirst into the atmosphere. Zekk felt a buffeting

  vibration as the winds clawed the armored plates.

  The hull heated up, and Zekk could sense the ionized scream of the

  shockwave through the air, but Tamith Kai piloted the battle platform

  expertly, without hesitation, directly toward their target.

  The Nightsister's deep, hard voice came over the comm. "We're

  approaching target altitude. Zekk, prepare your Dark Jedi for departure.

  The air-drop doors will open in one standard minute."

  Zekk clapped his gloved hands, ordering the Dark Jedi to stand in ranks.

  "The repulsorpacks will carry you," he said, "but use your Force

  abilities to guide your descent.

  We must strike directly. These are our sworn enemies, Luke Skywalker's

  Jedi Knights. The future of the galaxy hinges on our victory today."

  Zekk fixed his penetrating gaze on each one of the trainees, trying to

  impart a fraction of his determination to them. They were valiant

  warriors, vowing to succeed in their quest.

  But Zekk had not yet dealt with his own

  ^ inner turmoil. He knew in his heart that Tamith Kai's doubts about his

  loyalty had a legitimate foundation-he did feel a longing friendship

  toward his dear friend Jaina Solo and her brother Jacen.

  Deep in the forests of Kashyyyk he had warned Jaina to stay away from

  the Jedi academy. He did not want her to be part of this battle today.

  He did not want her to become a victim.

  But he knew with equal certainty that the Jaina Solo he knew and cared

  for would never stay away to save herself and leave her friends to die.

  He dreaded the thought that she might be down there ready to fight

  against him.

  Zekk was grateful to have his thoughts interrupted as the floor thumped

  and the drop-bay doors creaked open. A line of brighter air like a thin,

  toothless smile appeared at their feet and then yawned wide. The jungle

  treetops were visible below, punctuated by the protruding stone towers

  of ancient Massassi temples.

  "All right, my Dark Jedi," Zekk shouted into the bowling wind. 'the hour

  is ours.

  Depart!" Leading the charge" he dove into the sky, switched on his

  repulsorpack, and

  ^ tumbled toward the unprotected Jedi academy.

  Behind him the other Dark Jedi dropped from the battle platform one by

  one, falling like deadly birds of prey.

  In flight Zekk ignited his lightsaber, holding it out like a glowing

  beacon. He glanced up to see the other assault troops similarly

  extending their blazing weapons, capes fluttering behind them.

  Dark Jedi rained down from the sky.

  ^ ---------
--------THE SHRIEK OF twin ion engines ripped apart the

  relative quiet of the grand audience chamber. Tenel Ka's reflexes took

  over even before she recognized the source of the sound, and she found

  herself running in a crouch toward the closest window slit, with Jaina,

  Jacen, and Lowbacca right beside her.

  Through the slit in the stone wall, Tenel Ka saw TIE fighters on a

  strafing run-coming straight toward the Jedi academy!

  "Master Skywalker, we are under attack," Tenel Ka shouted.

  Luke Skywalker raised his voice to be heard throughout the chamber.

  "Everyone, stay in the jungles until the battle is over.

  Fight with all your skills and abilities. Remember your training . . .

  and may the Force be with you."

  A series of hollow-sounding explosions punctuated his command. A loud

  crack! echoed through the chamber as a proton bomb

  ^

  ^ struck the lowermost levels and dug a crater in the jungle soil

  outside the pyramid.

  From where she stood, Tenel Ka observed the other Jedi trainees and

  judged that their reactions to Master Skywalker's orders were

  commendable. Several students gasped in surprise, and Tenel Ka could

  sense conflicting emotions-nervous anticipation, homesickness, trust in

  the Force, dread at the possibility of having to kill. But she caught no