Heirs of the Force Read online

  Han Solo back to the Millennium Falcon. Beside him the Solo twins

  chattered gaily, apparently oblivious to the thick jungle heat. He

  could sense an underlying tension, though: Jacen and Jaina would miss

  their father every bit as much as he would miss his uncle Chewbacca, his

  mother, and the rest of his family back on Kashyyyk.

  Lowbacca's golden eyes flicked uneasily about the clearing in front of

  the Great Temple. He was still uncomfortable with wide-open spaces so

  close to the ground. On the Wookiee homeworld all cities were built

  high in the tops of the massive intertwining trees, supported by sturdy

  branches. Even the most courageous of Wookiees seldom ventured to the

  inhospitable lower levels of the forest-much less all the way to the

  ground, where dangers abounded.

  TO Lowbacca, height meant civilization, comfort, safety, home. And

  although the enormous Massassi trees towered u to p twenty times as high

  as any other plant on Yavin 4, compared with the trees of Kashyyyk they

  were midgets. Lowbacca wondered if he would ever find a place high

  enough on this small moon to make him feel at ease.

  Lowie was so lost in thought that he was startled to see that they had

  arrived at the Falcon.

  "Never have the chance to do a preflight when we're under fire," Han

  Solo said, "but it's a good idea when we do have the time."

  Standing at the foot of the entry ramp he smiled disarmingly at them.

  "If you kids aren't too busy, Chewie and I could use some help doing the

  preflight checks."

  "Great," Jaina said before anyone else could respond. "I'll take the

  hyperdrive." She rushed up the ramp, pausing for only a millisecond to

  brush a kiss on her father's cheek. "Thanks, Dad. You're the best."

  Han Solo looked immensely pleased for a long moment before bringing

  himself back to business with a shake of his head. "So, kid, you got

  any preferences?" He looked at Lowie, who thought briefly, then rumbled

  his reply.

  Although Han Solo had doubtless understood him very well, the pesky

  translator droid piped up. "Master Lowbacca wishes to inspect your

  ship's computer systems in order that he might tell it where to go."

  Han Solo gave Chewbacca a sidelong glance. "Thought you said you fixed

  that thing," he said, indicating Em Teedee. "It needs an attitude

  adjustment."

  Chewbacca shrugged eloquently, gave a menacing growl, and administered

  emergency repair procedure number one: he held the silvery oval with one

  huge hand while he shook the little droid until the circuits rattled.

  "Oh, dear me! Perhaps I could have been a bit more precise, P) the

  droid squeaked hastily.

  "Er . . . Master Lowbacca expresses his desire to perform the preflight

  checks on your navigational computer."

  "Good idea, kid," Han Solo agreed, briskly rubbing his palms together.

  "Jacen, you take the exterior hull; see if anything's nested in the

  exterior vents in the last couple of hours.

  I'll start on the life-support systems. Chewie, you check the cargo

  bay."

  This last was said with a lift of the chin and a twinkle in Han Solo's

  eye that Lowbacca.

  knew must have meant something to the older Wookiee-but Lowie hadn't a

  clue. He wondered dispiritedly if he would ever understand humans as

  well as his uncle did.

  The navicomputer was an enjoyable challenge. Lowie ran through all the

  preflight requirements twice-not because he thought he might have missed

  something the first time, but because the two places he felt most at

  home were in the treetops and in front of a computer.

  By the time Lowie completed his second run-through, Han Solo had already

  finished with the life-support systems and was now checking out the

  ship's emergency power generator. When he saw Lowbacca, Han wiped his

  hands on a greasy rag, tossed it aside, and held up one finger as if an

  idea had just come to him. "Why don't you give your uncle a hand in the

  cargo hold while I finish up here." His roguish grin was even more

  lopsided than usual.

  Lowbacca wondered what the smile meant and why his uncle should still

  need his help with the cargo. Sometimes humans were very difficult to

  understand. With a shrug, he headed toward the cargo bay.

  "Excuse me, Master Lowbacca," Em Teedee piped up, "but will you be

  needing my translating services at this time?"

  Lowbacca growled a negative.

  "Very well, sir," Em Teedee said. "In that case, would you mind if I

  put myself into a brief shutdown cycle? If you should require my

  assistance for any reason, please do not hesitate to interrupt my rest

  cycle."

  Lowie assured Em Teedee that the miniature droid would be the first to

  know if he needed anything from him.

  He found his uncle clambering across a mountain of crates and bundles,

  checking the securing straps. Apparently Lando Calrissian needed a good

  many supplies for his new mining operation.

  Even in the crowded cargo hold, he breathed deeply, enjoying the mix of

  familiar smells: speeder fuel, machined metal, lubricants, space

  rations, and Wookiee sweatenough to make him homesick for the treetop

  cities of Kashyyyk. He would have little access to speeders or

  computers while he studied at the Jedi academy-with the exception, of

  course, of Em Teedee. But perhaps he could console himself occasionally

  by climbing the jungle trees and thinking of home.

  Maybe he would do that after the Falcon took off, but for now there was

  work to do.

  Lowie asked his uncle what still needed to be done, and began to check

  the webbing on a pile of cargo that Chewbacca indicated.

  The straps and webbing were loose, and so was the cloth that covered the

  pile-so loose, in fact, that as Lowbacca began to work, the covering

  slid away entirely. His jaw dropped, and he stepped back to admire what

  he had accidentally uncovered.

  The air speeder, dismantled into large components, was still

  recognizable. It was an older model, a T-23 skyhopper, with controls

  similar to the X-wing fighter, but with trihedral wings, and a passenger

  seat and cramped cargo compartment at the rear of the cockpit. The

  blue-metallic hull had been battered and stained with age, but the

  engine mounted between the wings looked in serviceable condition.

  He glanced up to find his uncle staring at him expectantly. Then, to

  his great surprise, Chewbacca asked Lowie what he thought of the craft.

  The skyhopper was compact and well constructed. It wouldn't take much

  to put all the pieces together again. He complimented the vintage

  speedees lines and ventured a guess as to its range and maneuverability

  Of course, the onboard computer probably needed a system overhaul and

  the exterior could use a bit of body work, but those were only minor

  drawbacks. The dings and scars on the hull only served to add

  character.

  With a satisfied growl, Chewbacca spread his arms wide and shocked Lowie

  by telling him the T-23 was a going-away gift. The speeder belonged to

  Lowbacca, if he could assemble it.

  Lowbac
ca stood next to his T-23 in the clearing with Jacen and Jaina and

  waved good-bye. After a flurry of hugs, exchanged thanks, and

  last-minute messages, they watched as Han and Chewbacca climbed back

  aboard the ship.

  Now as the Millennium Falcon cleared the treetops and angled into the

  deep blue sky, the three young Jedi trainees continued waving, each lost

  in thought for a long moment as they gazed after the departing ship.

  At last Jaina heaved a sigh. "Well, Lowiel" she said, rubbing her hands

  together with a look of gleeful anticipation as she looked at the

  battered T-23. "Need any help getting this bucket of bolts up and

  going?"

  Realizing that even though Jaina was younger, she probably had more

  experience tuning speeder engines than he did, he nodded gratefully They

  spent the next few hours preparing the T-23 for its first flight on

  Yavin 4. Jacen occupied himself by telling jokes that Lowie didn't

  understand, or fetching tools for the two enthusiastic mechanics. Jaina

  smiled as she worked, glad of the rare chance to share what she knew

  about speeders and engines and T-23s.

  When at last they finished and Lowbacca leaned into the cockpit to

  switch on the engine, the T-23 crackled, sputtered, and roared to life.

  It lifted off the ground on its lower repulsorlifts, and a bright glow

  spluttered from the ion afterburners. The three friends let out two

  cheers and a bellow of triumph.

  "Need anyone to take her for a test flight?"

  Jaina asked hopefully.

  Lowie stumbled over a tentative answer.

  "What Master Lowbacca is trying to say," said Em Teedee, who had long

  since finished his rest cycle, "is that, as kind as your offer is, he

  would vastly prefer to pilot the first flight himself."

  Lowbacca grunted once.

  "And?" the little droid replied. "What do 'And?" Oh, I see-the other

  thing you mean, you said. But, sir, you didn't mean Lowbacca growled

  emphatically.

  "Well, if you insist," Em Teedee said.

  "Ahem. Master Lowbacca also says that he would be honored to have you

  as his passenger, Mistress Jaina. However, Y) he rushed on, "let me

  assure you that last statement was made with the utmost reluctance."

  Lowbacca groaned and hit his forehead with the heel of one hairy hand in

  a Wookiee expression of complete embarrassment.

  "Well, it , s certainly the truth," Em Teedee said defensively. "I'm

  certain I didn't get the intonation wrong.

  @y Jaina, who had at first looked disappointed at Lowbacca's reluctance,

  now seemed amused at his chagiin. "I under-stand, Lowie," she said.

  "I'd want to take her out on my own the first time, too. How about

  giving us a ride tomorrow?"

  Relieved that the twins were not upset, Lowbacca loudly agreed, jumped

  into the cockpit, and strapped himself in. The whine of the engines

  drowned out Em Teedee's attempt at translating. Lowie raised a hand in

  salute, waited until Jacen and Jaina were clear, brought the engines to

  full power, and took off, heading out toward the vast jungle.

  The T-23 maneuvered well, and Lowbacca reveled in the feeling of height

  and freedom as he streaked away. But still he found himself yearning

  for one more thing, something that he had been thinking of all day.

  The trees. Tall, towering, safe trees.

  Scarcely half an hour later, far away from the Jedi academy and the

  Great Temple, he landed the T-23 on the sturdy treetops, settling the

  craft in the uppermost branches of the Massassi trees. The tree canopy

  was not as high as he was used to. The air was thinner, and the jungle

  smells, though not unpleasant, were different from those of Kashyyyk.

  Even so, Lowbacca felt more at peace now than he had at any other moment

  since landing on Yavin 4.

  Jacen had said that the huge orange gas giant overhead was best viewed

  from a Massassi tree-and the human boy was definitely right. Lowie

  looked around in all directions-at the sky and the trees, at the

  crumbling ruins of smaller temples visible through breaks in the canopy.

  He stared at the languid rivers, at the strange vegetation and animals

  around him. He sighed with relief. He could find a place of

  contentment and solitude on this moon, a place where he could think of

  family and home while he studied to be a Jedi.

  As the late-afternoon sunlight slanted through the thick branches, a

  distant glint caught Lowbacca's eye. He wondered what it could be. It

  was not the color of any vegetation or temple ruins. The light

  reflected from a shiny and evenly shaped object stuck partway up a tree.

  Lowie leaned forward, as if that could help him see more clearly. He

  wished he had brought a pair of macrobinoculars.

  Curiosity and wonder struck a spark of excitement in him. He wanted to

  get closer, but caution intervened. It was getting dark.

  And after all, if the object was important, wouldn't someone have seen

  it long ago?

  Perhaps not. He doubted it could be seen from the jungle floor, and it

  was unlikely that many students came out and climbed to the top of the

  canopy, this far away from the Great Temple. He was almost certain that

  no one knew about this discovery.

  Heart pounding, Lowie made a mental note of the shiny object's location.

  He would come back the very first chance he got-he had to find out what

  it was. ----------------"I WONDER WHY Lowie never made it to evening

  meal," Jacen said. Jaina and Tenel Ka sat next to him in the grand

  audience chamber, where Luke Skywalker had summoned them all for a

  special announcement.

  Dusk light shone like burning metal through the narrow windows overhead,

  but the clean white glowpanels dispelled shadows in the large, echoing

  room.

  "Maybe he was having too much fun flying his T-23," Jaina whispered. "I

  probably wouldn't have made it back either."

  "Perhaps," Tenel Ka said in a low voice, as if giving the matter serious

  consideration, "he was not hungry."

  Jacen flashed her a look of disbelief. "Hey, a Wookiee not hungry? Hah!

  And you say I make dumb jokes."

  Tenel Ka shrugged. "It is a thought."

  "Okay, well , Jacen said, "I'm not kidding now-what if something went

  wrong with the skyhopper? What if Lowie crashed in the jungle?"

  "Impossible," Jaina replied. Though she whispered, her tone was clearly

  firm. "I checked all those systems myself."

  Tenel Ka's eyebrows raised a fraction. "Ah.

  Ah-hah. So because you checked them, the systems could not

  malfunction?" She nodded, and Jacen could have sworn that he saw the

  shadow of a smile lurking at the corners of her lips.

  "Never mind-there's Lowie," Jacen said with relief, waving his arms to

  attract their Wookiee friend's attention.

  "See?" Jaina said smugly. "Told you nothing could happen."

  Jacen pretended not to notice. "You're just in time," he said as the

  Wookiee joined them.

  "Master Skywalker should be here anytime now.

  No one really knew why this special twilight meeting had been called,

  but it was fairly unusual. Everyone who lived, worked, or trained at
<
br />   the Jedi academy had arrived, filling the chamber with a hushed

  excitement.

  Jacen whispered, "Where were you, Lowic?"

  Lowbacca responded in a low rumble, quieter than any Jacen had ever

  heard a Wookiee use. Without warning, Em Teedee announced in a clear

  metallic voice, "Master Lowbacca wishes it known that he had a most

  successful expedition and-" The translator droid cut off in midsentence

  as Lowbacca clamped a ginger-furred hand over the droid's mouth speaker.

  "Shhh!" Jaina hissed.

  "Can't you turn it down?" Jacen whispered.

  Curious eyes turned to stare at them from every section of the grand

  audience chamber.

  Lowbacca hunched down in his seat with a chagrined look that needed no

  interpreter.

  He craned his neck forward to stare at the droid clipped to his webbed

  belt. He issued a series of soft, sharp mutters.

  "Oh! Oh, dear me," Em Teedee replied in an enthusiastic though much

  quieter voice.

  "I do beg your pardon. I did not fully comprehend that you didn't

  intend to share your discovery with everyone present."

  "Discovery?" Jacen said. "What did you-" But Master Skywalker chose

  that moment to make his entrance. A hush fell over the crowd, putting

  an end to all hope of Jacen satisfying his curiosity before the meeting