Jedi Under Siege Page 4

  hint of confusion, panic, or denial.

  Without waiting for further instructions, Jedi students streamed out of

  the grand audience chamber. Luke Skywalker dashed to the window where

  Tenel Ka's group stood and motioned for Peckhum to join them.

  The old spacer ducked as stone powder fell from the ceiling, shaken

  loose by the pounding from above.

  The Jedi Master began issuing instructions immediately, and Tenel Ka

  marveled at how calm he seemed in the midst of the turmoil. "Jacen, take

  the Shadow Chaser into orbit. See if you can break through the jamming

  signal and send a message to your mother that we're under attack.

  Artoo-Detoo's down in the hangar bay already waiting with the ship. He's

  all the copilot you'll need."

  Jaina, who loved to fly, was about to protest when Luke turned to her.

  "I need you to go across the river and check out the shield generator

  equipment. See if there's any chance of getting our defensive shields

  back up. iowie, I want you and Tenel Ka-" The comlink clipped to Luke's

  belt interrupted him, signaling an urgent message.

  Another explosion vibrated through the Great Temple, this one closer

  than the others.

  As soon as Luke switched on his comlink, Artoo-Detoo's alarmed bleeps

  and whistles issued from it.

  "@at's that, Artoo? Calm down," Luke said.

  "If you would allow me, Master Skywalker," Em Teedee said ' "I was able

  to parse your astromech droid's message and could provide a translation

  for you. I am fluent in over six forms of communic-"

  "Thank you, Em Teedee," Luke Skywalker cut off the little droid's

  chatter, "that would be very helpful."

  "Artoo-Detoo reports that-oh dear!-the front of the hangar bay has been

  hit. Rubble has completely sealed off the entrance. No ships can get in

  or out. The Shadow Chaser is trapped inside."

  "Hey," Jacen said after a moment of

  ^ thought,"Peckhum, what about the Lightning Rod?It's not sealed in."

  Tenel Ka felt a frown crease her forehead t' at the thought of Jacen

  facing an Imperial attack in the rickety old cargo shuttle.

  "The Lightning Rod doesn't have the Shadow Chaser's quantum armor," Luke

  pointed out.

  "Too dangerous," Jaina said.

  "Hey, we're all in danger here," Jacen said in a low, firm voice. 'And

  we have to get a message out."

  "Sure, we could do it," old Peckhum said.

  "I've learned some pretty good evasive maneuvers in my day-enough to

  make it to orbit without getting'blown up, I'd guess."

  Just then Lowbacca gave a warning yelp and pointed toward the window

  slit.

  Hovering over the jungle in the distance was an ominous-looking

  construction, a giant weapon-studded tactical platform, like a deadly

  raft carrying enemy troops.

  Tenel Ka felt a stab of recognition. "Tamith Kai is there; I can feel

  her," she said.

  "It looks like she's directing the ground battle from up there," Luke

  said.

  "Then we must disable that battle platform," Tenel Ka replied without a

  pause. "I volunteer. The Nightsister is mine."

  ^ Lowbacca barked a comment. 'Master Lowbacca wishes to point out that

  his T-23 is still out near the landing pad. Using the skyhopper, he and

  Mistress Tenel Ka could easily reach that platform within minutes."

  Luke nodded. "We each have our missions. I'll do one last sweep of the

  pyramid to make sure no one was left behind. I'll see you all out at the

  rendezvous point in the jungle."

  As the young Jedi Knights raced down the stairs inside the temple, Tenel

  Ka's mind already began moving ahead to the coming confrontation.

  Adrenaline pumped through her veins, and her mind was alert. She had

  been bred and trained for battle.

  Although fighting with only one arm would present her with new

  challenges, she felt neither afraid nor overconfident. She was simply

  ready. A Jedi must always be ready, she knew. Master Skywalker and

  'bonne had trained them all well. Tenel Ka had her lightsaber and her

  Force skills. Together, she was certain, that was enough for her to

  defeat any enemy.

  By the time they all reached the landing pad, Jaina had already split

  off from the group, plunging toward the river and the shield generator

  station. Tenel Ka was surprised to note that the old pilot Peckhum had

  kept up with them as he and Jacen sprinted toward the battered supply

  shuttle.

  Dodging energy bolts from the TIE fighters that swooped overhead, Tenel

  Ka and Lowbacca scrambled into the T-23 skyhopper while Peckhum and

  Jacen boarded the Lightning Rod.

  Watching Jacen run up the ramp into the Lightning Rod, Tenel Ka felt a

  tug at her emotions she could not explain, even to herself Almost at the

  same moment, Jacen reappeared and stared at Tenel Ka with a serious

  expression. His face broke into a grin. 'I'll tell you a joke when we

  get back-a good one this time." Then he was gone again.

  As Lowie fired up the T-23's repulsorjets, Tenel Ka answered, though she

  knew he couldn't hear her, "Yes, my friend Jacen, I would like to hear

  your joke. When we all get back."

  ^ ------------------I THE LIGHTNING ROD'S engines whined as the ship

  strained against gravity. Just after liftoff, the battered vessel gave a

  sharp jolt. Alarm bells went off inside Jacens head. "We're hit!" he

  cried, not even bothering to check the readouts.

  "Naw," old Peckhum answered. "Lightning Rod's been doing' that ever

  since I switched out the power coupling to the rear repulsorjets. I

  guess I'll have to take a look at that again one of these days."

  The knot of panic in Jacens stomach eased a little-but only a little.

  "Maybe Jaina can help you with it later," he said.

  An energy bolt streaked by as a TIE fighter sang past them on its

  descent toward the Jedi academy. "Hey, that was a close one!" Jacen

  said.

  "Too close," Peckhum agreed. "Hang on, young Solo-I'm gonna try some

  evasive maneuvers."

  ^

  ^

  ^ 0 Lowie focused his full concentration on getting the T-23 to cover.

  With his peripheral vision he could see other Jedi students dodging fire

  from TIE fighters as they sprinted for the safety of the trees. When

  they reached the edge of the forest, the young Wookiee pulled his

  skyhopper into a sharp climb.

  The dense network of leafy branches had always signified protection to

  Lowie, and he longed for a few peaceful moments in the treetops. But no

  peace awaited Lowie and Tenel Ka up there. Not this time.

  Lowie clenched the steering controls tightly and zigzagged the flight

  path across the treetops, trying to throw off any pursuers who might be

  on their track. 'Ibday trouble rained down on them from above, and he

  could flee to no safe height. His best bet lay in remaining among the

  trees.

  An energy bolt spat past the T-23 and sent up a plume of dirt and singed

  turf behind them. "Let the Force guide you, Lowbacca, my friend," Tenel

  Ka said from the passenger seat in back.

  Lowie rumbled an acknowledgment and took a deep calming breath. He flew
>
  onward, letting the Force control his weaving

  ^ and dodging. They headed toward the wide, greenish-brown river over

  which Tenel Ka and Lowbacca had seen the Nightsister's sinister battle

  platform. Even from half a kilometer away, they could see lances of

  laser fire shoot out from the armored vessel, incinerating trees along

  the banks.

  Suddenly, Tenel Ka gave a shout of surprise. "Look. There!"

  From the sky above a group of figures descended like swooping birds of

  prey human forms. Dark Jedi dropped from the clouds in a dispersed

  attack pattern, lightsabers flashing as they controlled their direction

  with repulsorpacks.

  A proximity alarm sounded the moment Lowbacca diverted his attention,

  and a laser cannon blast from a passing TIE fighter struck them. A jet

  of smoke and sparks spewed from the T-23's rear engines. The tiny

  skyhopper shimmied and bucked in the air. With a shriek of shearing

  metal, one of the attitude-control fins gave way.

  "Oh my," Em Teedee wailed. "I can't bear to watch." Lowie, reacting with

  the instinct of his Jedi training, wrestled with the controls.

  Directed by the Force, one of his sharpclawed hands flew across the

  control panel, ^ while his free hand guided their descent.

  Smoke poured into the cockpit, and the skyhopper sputtered and rocked.

  Without knowing quite how he did it, Lowie cut the rear engines and bled

  off their momentum into a steep upward climb. Then, letting the little

  ship fall back toward the treetops, he used one final burst from the

  repulsorjets to slow their descent@enough, he hoped.

  The T-23 crashed onto the jungle canopy.

  With every breath, Tenel Ka drew fire into her aching lungs. Nearby a

  Wookiee groaned, but she could not make sense of the growled words. She

  could see nothing.

  "Mistress Tenel Ka!" A strident electronic voice broke into her foggy

  consciousness.

  "Master @wbacca urgently requests your assistance removing the T-23s

  canopy."

  Tenel Ka tried to look around. She saw only roiling, changing shapes of

  light and dark. The shifting patterns stung her eyes, and she squeezed

  them tightly shut.

  A voice loud enough to wake a Jedi Master from a healing trance wailed

  in Tenel Ka's ears. "Oh, curse my sluggish processor, I'm too late.

  She's dead!"

  Lowbacca bellowed a loud denial. At the

  ^ same time, something reached out and gave her a sharp nudge.

  "No," Tenel Ka managed to croak. "I'm alive."

  Lowbacca gave a few crisp barks, and Tenel Ka found herself responding

  to his instructions even before Em Teedee could clarify, "Master

  Lowbacca asks you to push against the canopy with all your might whilst

  throwing your weight toward the port side-to the left, you know."

  Tenel Ka knew. She pushed and rocked.

  Despite the choking clouds of smoke from the burning engines, she grew

  calm enough to let the Force flow through her.

  Even through her closed eyelids, Tenel Ka could tell when Em Teedee

  switched on the bright yellow beams of his optical sensors to cut

  through the smoke. "It would seem," the little droid went on, "that the

  T-23s canopy is wedged against a tree branch. Oh, we're doomed!" Then,

  just as the little droid finished his lament, the skyhopper's canopy

  popped free, and fresh air flooded the cockpit. Both Tenel Ka and

  Lowbacca stripped out of their crash webbing and scrambled free of the

  wreckage. As they moved away from the smoldering craft, panting for

  breath and waiting for

  ^ their vision to clear, Tenel Ka's hand went automatically to her

  hghtsaber to be sure it was still clipped firmly at her waist. It was.

  "Oh dear," Em Teedee exclaimed in a tinny voice. "Now we'll most likely

  become lost in the jungle and captured by woolamanders. Do be careful,

  Master Lowbacca. I should hate to repeat that dreadful experience."

  Balancing on a tree limb beside Tenel Ka, Lowbacca turned to gaze at the

  crashed T-23 and uttered a low, mournful note. Tenel Ka could see that

  his distress came not from the thought of jungle creatures, but from the

  loss of his beloved vehicle. The warrior girl understood loss. She

  reached out her single hand to touch Lowbacca's arm briefly and let the

  strength of the Force comfort him. Then, as one, they turned to seek out

  their destination: the giant battle platform and the evil Nightsister.

  To Kenel Ka's relief and surprise, Lowbacca had managed to crash-land

  barely two hundred meters from where the battle platform hovered above

  the crowns of the Massassi trees. Before she could speak, though, her

  Wookiee friend gave a low woof of warning and pointed downward toward

  cover.

  ^ Tenel Ka understood immediately and scrambled down into the leaves and

  branches until she was hidden. If they could see the giant battle

  platform, then they themselves could be seen. They would need to make

  their way to the battle platform beneath the rippling green leaves, like

  swimmers below the surface of an ocean.

  With only one arm to help her balance and pull herself along, Tenel Ka

  had to trust the Force to place her feet securely at each step. She even

  welcomed Lowbacca's help when he offered it in crossing weak branches or

  broad gaps.

  Tenel Ka wasn't sure why she felt compelled to speak. Perhaps it was the

  air of sadness that hung about her Wookiee friend.

  "We will spend many enjoyable days repairing your T-23, Lowbacca my

  fi-iend-you, Jacen, Jaina, and I. After this battle is over."

  The Wookiee stopped, looked at her quizzically for a moment, then

  chuffed with laughter. After a series of woofs, Em Teedee said, "Master

  Lowbacca adds that Master Jacen will most likely be delighted to have a

  captive audience to entertain with his jokes." Tenel Ka felt her own

  spirits brighten at

  ^ that thought, and they moved forward at a more rapid pace. Her mind

  focused on the goal of defeating the Second Imperium once and for all.

  Suddenly, she felt a tingle run up her spine. "Halt!" she said. A TIE

  fighter swooped low across the leaves, rippling the canopy around them

  with its hot exhaust as it circled to inspect the crashed skyhopper.

  Lowbacca growled, and Tenel Ka held his arm to restrain him from any

  rash action.

  The Imperial ship circled again over the wreckage, as if looking for

  survivors. Tenel Ka hoped the pilot wouldn't blast the alreadydowned

  craft into a smoldering lump of slag and debris. After a tense moment,

  the enemy ship roared away in search of new prey.

  She and Lowbacca pressed on through the trees toward where the battle

  platform waited.

  It seemed like no time at all before Em Teedee said, "Unless my senses

  have become completely uncalibrated by the crash, we should be directly

  below the leading edge of the battle platform right now."

  Lowbacca held out a hand, motioning for Tenel Ka to wait, and scrambled

  up a few branches to check their location. At his low

  ^ bark of triumph, she climbed after him and pushed her head above the

  leafy canopy.

  There, hovering ten me
ters over the treetops, was the underside of the

  giant battle platform, massive and threatening, armored for assault,

  bristling with weapons.

  "It should be a simple enough task to destroy it," Tenel Ka said.

  The sounds of shouted orders and clomping booted feet carried down to

  them. Lowbacca pointed upward and then shrugged as if to say, What next?

  The platform was too high above the trees to make a jump, and they had

  no repulsorpacks of their own.

  Tenel Ka reached for the grappling hook and fibercord she kept at her

  belt.

  "We'll have to climb for it," she said.

  The platform hovered higher than Tenel Ka was accustomed to aiming, but

  the grappling hook caught firmly on the armored edge on her second

  throw. Tenel Ka tested her weight on the fibercord. The grappling hook

  did not budge. Then, wrapping her arm and her legs around the cord, she

  began to climb, using the Force to help levitate her when her single arm

  couldn't provide enough support.

  Above on the platform waited Imperial

  ^ stormtroopers, heavy armaments, and a Nightsister from Dathomir.

  Tenel Ka swallowed hard. She knew that ------------------ I although the

  Force was with them, the odds definitely were not.