Heirs of the Force Read online

  pointed to a dull, flat loop of metal that was firmly attached to the

  mass of fibers.

  "A . . . buckle?" Jaina said, finally comprehending.

  Her brother nodded. "Like the kind in crash webbing."

  "Good work," Tenel Ka said with solemn approval.

  "Well, what are we waiting for?" Jaina asked. "Let's keep going."

  By midafternoon, though, Jaina began to get discouraged. Jacen, on the

  other hand, was intrigued by every crawling creature or insect they

  encountered.

  "Do please try to be a bit more cautious!"

  Jaina could hear Em Teedee saying. "That's the third dent today. And

  I've lost count of how many scratches I've received while you've been

  exploring. Now if you would only be more attentive to-" Em Teedee's

  admonishments were drowned out as Lowie gave a sharp bark of surprise

  behind a tangle of vines and branches. "Oh! Oh, my. Mistress Jaina,

  Master Jacen, Mistress Tenel Ka!" Em Teedee's voice was loud enough to

  startle not only Jaina but a number of flying and climbing creatures.

  "Do come quickly. Master Lowbacca has made a discovery."

  Needing no further encouragement, all of them rushed to see what

  Lowbacca had found. Jaina felt her heart pounding in her chest, knowing

  and dreading what they would find.

  They worked quickly, scratching and cutting their hands as they pulled

  away the thick plant growth from the heap of metallic wreckage. Jaina

  gasped as they finally exposed it-a rounded, tarnished cockpit large

  enough only for a single pilot, one squarish black solar panel

  crisscrossed with support braces. The other panel was missing, stuck up

  in the tree where Lowie had found it. But still the ship was

  unmistakable.

  A crashed Imperial TIE fighter. ----------------"BUT WHY WOULD such a

  craft be here in the jungles of Yavin 4?" Tenel Ka asked, narrowing her

  eyes in concern as they worked to remove the debris from the ruined

  craft. "Is it an Imperial spy ship?"

  Jaina shook her head. "Can't be. TIE fighters were short-range ships

  used by the Empire.

  They weren't equipped with hyperdrive, so there aren't many ways it

  could have gotten here."

  Jacen cleared his throat. "Well, I can think of one way," he said, "but

  that would make this ship-let's see "Over twenty years old Jaina

  breathed, finishing his sentence for him.

  Lowbacca made a low, questioning noise, and Tenel Ka continued to look

  perplexed.

  Jaina explained. "When the Empire built the first Death Star, it was

  the most powerful weapon ever made. They tested it by destroying

  Alderaan, our mother's@s homeworld. Then they brought it here to Yavin

  4, to destroy the Rebel base."

  As she spoke, Jaina pulled the last bit of brush away from the top

  canopy of the TIE fighter and looked inside. There were no bones. She

  slid into the musty cockpit.

  "A lot of Rebel pilots died in one-on-one combat with the TIE fighters

  that protected the Death Star, and a lot of Imperial fighters were shot

  down too , Jacen said, picking up the story.

  Jaina wrinkled her nose at the mildewy smell, the mold-clogged controls.

  She ran her fingers over the navigation panels in the cockpit, closing

  her eyes and wondering what it must have been like twenty-some years ago

  to be a fighter pilot in the Battle of Yavin 4. She envisioned an enemy

  fighter swooping toward her in a strafing run, her engine hit, her tiny

  ship careening out of control. . . .

  Jacen's voice broke into her thoughts. "But then in the end, our dad

  flew cover for Uncle Luke's X-wing fighter while he took his final run.

  Uncle Luke made the shot that blew up the Death Star."

  Tenel Ka nodded gravely, her braided redgold hair like a wreath around

  her head.

  "And why is it called a TIE fighter?" she asked.

  Jaina answered, speaking up from the cockpit, "Because it has twin ion

  engines.

  T-I-E, see?"

  Ducking her head, she wormed her way to the engine access panels at the

  rear of the cockpit and pried open the tarnished metal plate. A

  squeaking rodent, disturbed from its hidden nest, scampered away,

  vanishing through a small hole in the hull.

  Jaina tinkered with the engines, checking integrity, noting the rotted

  hoses and fuel lines. But overall, the primary motivators seemed

  intact, though she would have to run numerous diagnostics. She had

  plenty of spare parts in her room.

  She stood up slowly in the cockpit and poked her head out again, then

  ran her callused hands along the side of the crashed TIE fighter. "You

  know, I think we could do it," Jaina said.

  All eyes turned toward her, questioning.

  "I think we could fix the TIE fighter."

  Her brother stared at her in stunned silence for a moment, then clapped

  a palm to his forehead. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

  As the whine of the T-23 skyhopper faded into the jungle distance, the

  frightened forest creatures settled back into their routines.

  They scuttled through the underbrush, chasing each other across the

  branches, predator and prey The leaves stirred and flying creatures sent

  their cries from treetop to treetop, forgetting the intruders entirely

  Far below on the forest floor, the branches of a dense thicket parted. A

  worn and tattered black glove pushed a thorny twig aside.

  The pilot of the crashed TIE fighter emerged from his hiding place into

  the newly trampled clearing. pp "Surrender is betrayal , he muttered to

  himself, as he had done so many times before. It had become a litany

  during his years of rugged survival on the isolated jungle moon of

  Yavin.

  The pilot's protective uniform hung in rags from his gaunt frame, worn

  to tatters and patched with furs from an incredible number of years

  living alone in the jungle. His left arm, injured during the crash, was

  drawn up like a twisted claw against his chest. He stepped forward,

  cracking twigs under his old boots as he made his way to the crash site

  that was no longer secret. He had camouflaged the wrecked Imperial

  craft many years ago, hiding it from Rebel eyes. But now, despite all

  his work, it had been discovered.

  "Sur-render is betrayal," he said again. He stared down at his fighter,

  trying to see what damage the Rebel spies had caused.

  I 0 ---------------OVER THE NEXT few days, Tionne increased the

  complexity of the young Jedi trainees' assignments, and the four

  companions practiced fine-tuning their control of the Force.

  Jaina, Jacen Lowie, and Tenel Ka found excuses to return again and again

  to the site of the crashed TIE fighter. With Jaina as the driving

  force, they took on the repair project as a group exercise-but they

  always managed to work in any assigned practice sessions during their

  jungle expeditions.

  Although the idea was not flattering, Jaina was forced to admit that

  part of her motivation for this work was her envy of Lowbacca's personal

  T-23-she wanted her own craft to fly over the treetops. But she was

  also drawn by the challenge the wrecked TIE fighter represented. Its

  a
ge and complexity offered a unique opportunity for learning about

  mechanics, and Jaina could not turn it down.

  But the strongest reason for taking on the project-and perhaps the one

  that kept them all working without complaint-was that it forged a bond

  among the four friends. They learned to function as a team, to make the

  most of each person's strengths and to compensate for each othees

  weaknesses. The strands of their friendships intertwined and wove

  together in a pattern as simple as it was strong. This bond included

  even Em Teedee, who learned to make verbal contributions at appropriate

  times and was gradually accepted as a member of their group.

  Jaina spent most of her time overseeing the mechanical repairs, while

  Lowbacca concentrated on the computer systems. Jacen had ample

  opportunity to explore and to observe the local wildlife as, officially,

  he "searched" through the nearby underbrush for broken or missing

  components; he also made quick supply trips back to the academy in the

  T-23 for parts that Jaina or Lowbacca needed.

  Tenel Ka worked with quiet competence on any task that needed doing and

  was especially valuable in lugging new metal plates to patch large

  breaches in the TIE hull.

  "Hey, Tenel Ka!" Jacen said. "What goes ha-ha-ha . . . thump!"

  Her gray eyes looked at him, as lustrous as highly polished stones. "I

  don't know."

  "A droid laughing its head off!" Jacen said, then started giggling.

  "Ah. A-hah," Tenel Ka said. She considered this for a moment, then

  added without the slightest trace of mirth, "Yes, that is very funny."

  She bent back to her work.

  From time to time Lowie climbed to the top of the canopy to meditate and

  absorb the solitude; the young Wookiee enjoyed his time alone, sitting

  in silence. Tenel Ka occasionally took short breaks to test her

  athletic skills by running through jungle undergrowth or climbing trees.

  But Jaina preferred to stay with the downed TIE fighter, examining it

  from every angle and imagining possibilities. She considered no bodily

  position too difficult or undignified to assume while repairing the

  craft.

  Jaina tucked her head under the cockpit control panel, with her stomach

  supported by the back of the pilot's seat. Her backside was sticking

  high in the air and her feet were kicking as she worked, when she felt a

  playful poke on the leg.

  She extricated herself from the awkward position. Lowie handed her a

  datapad into which he had downloaded the schematics and specifications

  for a TIE fighter, taken from the main information files in the computer

  center back at the Great Temple. Jaina studied the data and looked over

  the list of computer parts Lowbacca needed.

  "These should be pretty easy for Jacen to find," she said. 'I have most

  of them right in my room."

  Em Teedee spoke up. 'Master Lowbacca wishes to know which systems you

  intend to concentrate on next."

  Jaina's brow furrowed in judicious concentration. "We've already

  decided we won't be needing the weapons systems. I think the laser

  cannons work fine, but I don't intend to hook them up. I suppose the

  next step might be to work on the power systems. I haven't done much

  with them yet."

  Jacen and Tenel Ka trotted up to join the discussion. "You will need

  the other solar panel," Tenel Ka said. 'Up in the tree."

  Jacen cocked an eyebrow at her, using Tenel Ka's own phrase. "This is a

  fact?" Tenel Ka did not smile, but nodded her approval.

  Jacen folded his arms across his chest and looked pleased with himself

  'Does anyone remember the assignment Tionne gave us for today?"

  "Cooperative lifting with one or more other students," Tenel Ka stated

  without hesitation.

  Jaina clapped her hands and rubbed them together, scrambling out of the

  cramped cockpit. "Well, then, what are we waiting for?"

  The process was much more difficult than they had anticipated, but in

  the end they managed it. Lowie and Tenel Ka climbed up into the tree to

  clear away the moss and branches that held the panel in place. Tenel Ka

  secured it with the thin fibercord from her belt, while Lowbacca added

  sturdy vines to help support the heavy slab. Jaina and Jacen watched

  from the lower branches of the tree, craning their necks to see.

  "Everyone ready?" Jaina asked. "Okaynow concentrate," she said. She

  gave them a moment to observe the solar panel glittering in scattered

  light from the sky. They studied the piece of wreckage, grasping it

  with their thoughts.

  "Now," Jaina said.

  With that, four minds pushed upward, nudging. In a gentle, concerted

  motion they lifted the panel free of the branch where it had rested for

  decades. The large, flat rectle wobbled in midair for a moment and ang

  then began to slowly descend. Tenel Ka kept her fibercord taut, easing

  the Force-lightened object down.

  Together, they brought it to rest a few branches below where it had

  been. Tenel Ka and Lowbacca untied the vines and the fiber cord from

  the higher branch, climbed down, and retied the strands to the branch on

  which the panel now rested.

  The process was not perfect. Mental coordination among the four friends

  proved difficult, and they each lost their grip more than once.

  But the vines and fibercord held, preventing a disaster.

  By the time the exhausted companions brought the panel to the jungle

  floor and carried it to the crash site, all of them were panting and

  perspiring from the mental exeilion.

  Jaina sank down beside the TIE fighter with a weary groan. She flopped

  backward in the dirt and leaves, not caring for the moment that her hair

  would become as disheveled and full of twigs as her brother's usually

  was.

  Lowie tossed them each a packet of food from the basket of supplies they

  brought with them every day. Jaina's packet landed on her stomach, and

  she rolled onto her side with a mock growl of indignation. As she faced

  a hole in the side of the broken TIE fighter, a sudden thought occurred

  to her.

  "You know, " she said, chin in hands. "I'd be willing to bet there's

  enough room in there to install a hyperdrive."

  "You said that TIE fighters were short-range craft," Tenel Ka said.

  Lowie responded with a contemplative sound as he thought this over.

  Jacen merely moaned at the mention of more work.

  "They were designed to be short-range," Jaina said. "Never equipped

  with hyperdrives because the Emperor didn't want to sacrifice the

  maneuverability."

  Jacen snorted. "Or maybe he didn't want any of his fighter pilots

  making a quick escape."

  Jaina turned toward him and grinned. iti guess I never thought of it

  that way." Her face lit with enthusiasm as she looked at her friends.

  "But there's nothing to stop us from equipping this TIE fighter with a

  hyperdrive, is there? Dad gave me one to tinker with."

  "It is a possibility," Tenel Ka said, without much enthusiasm.

  They were all tired, Jaina knew. But her mind raced with the excitement

  of this new thought. She made a quick decision. "Okay,
let's go back

  to the academy. I want to make some measurements. We'll call it a

  day."

  Jacen sighed with relief. "I think that's been your best suggestion in

  hours."

  Back again the next afternoon, Jacen lay flat on his stomach, his chin

  resting on one clenched fist as he surveyed the moist ground beneath a

  tangle of low, thick bushes. He left his feet sticking out from beneath

  the bushes so that the others could locate him easily should they look

  up from their workthough there was little chance of that. From behind

  him he could hear thumping and clinking as Jaina labored to install the

  hyperdrive in the TIE fighter.

  A thick splat told him that Tenel Ka and Lowbacca were applying sealant

  over the hole patch at the base of the reattached solar panel. The

  others were all busy, leaving Jacen free to hunt for "missing parts"

  again.

  He watched, fascinated, as a leaf-shaped creature that matched the

  blue-green color of the foliage around him attached itself to a branch.

  It extended a long mottled brown tongue that flattened against the twig

  in a perfect camouflage. Jacen could sense the leaf creature's

  anticipation. Soon a crowd of minute insects, drawn by a smell Jacen

  could not discern, landed on the "branch" and became stuck fast. Jacen

  chuckled and shook his head as the leaf creature retracted its tongue