Darkest Knight

1

The Massassi trees that towered over Yavin 4’s jungles were smaller than the enormous wroshyr trees on the Wookiee home-world, but Lowbacca considered them to be the next best thing. Especially when he needed to be alone, in a place where he could sort out his thoughts.

As twilight descended on the jungle moon with a blanket of colors deepening in hue, Lowie ascended one of the thickest, tallest trees in the vicinity of the Great Temple, the site of Luke Skywalker’s Jedi academy. With his retractable Wookiee claws and muscular arms, he grabbed on to branches and hauled his lanky body up one level after another, increasing the distance between himself and the ground. It seemed that if he kept climbing, he might almost be able to reach the stars … and be closer to home.

Stopping to rest momentarily, Lowie reached out to grasp a hairy green vine, tugged to make sure it would hold his weight, then used it to climb even higher. He had to reach the top. The top was the best place.

The best place to think.

It had been a long time since he had been back to the Wookiee world of Kashyyyk. He hadn’t seen his immediate family since departing for Yavin 4 to begin training as a Jedi Knight. Although Lowie loved tinkering with computers—as did his sister and his parents—he wanted more than anything to make use of his special, undefinable talent, a potential for using the Force that few Wookiees in his family line had ever exhibited.

When Lowie first arrived at the Jedi academy, uncertain and alone, his uncle Chewbacca had given him a T-23 skyhopper as a gift, so he could cruise far out into the jungle. Sometimes he brought his friends Jacen and Jaina and Tenel Ka. At other times, though, he just needed to be by himself, far from everyone. And this was one of those times.

He missed his family very much, especially his younger sister Sirrakuk. A very dangerous time in her life was fast approaching….

With a great heave, Lowie used one long arm to draw his body up to a leafy nest of branches, where he disturbed a shrieking horde of the voracious tree rodents called stintarils. Stintarils normally ate anything in sight, anything that moved—but when Lowie treated them to his best Wookiee roar, the cluttering rodents scampered away through the trees, kicking up clouds of broken twigs and leaves.

At last, surrounded by the dimming colors of dusk, Lowie parted the final blanket of leaves overhead. He braced his broad, flat feet on a sturdy branch, pushed his head above the treetops, and stood there, drinking in the distance. He looked across the sprawling jungle that spread all around him like an ocean of greenery, occasionally broken by the protruding ruins of temples. He smelled the damp scents of approaching evening: night-blooming flowers from vines that curled through the leaves, the rich moistness of the Massassi trees themselves, a fine mist rising above the canopy as if the forest itself were exhaling in its sleep.

The looming coppery gas-giant of Yavin shimmered low in the sky like a dying ember, a huge sphere of swirling gases. Not far from the orangish planet, though invisible to Lowie’s eye, orbited GemDiver Station, Lando Calrissian’s mining operation that retrieved valuable Corusca gems from the gas-giant’s core.

Lowie looked away from the planet setting on the horizon, though, as deeper night seeped into the sky. Specks of starlight dusted the midnight blue canopy.

Finding a comfortable spot to lean against the outspread crown of the Massassi tree, he remained still, breathing deeply, drawing comfort from the sight of the endless trees … and thinking of Kashyyyk.

He should be calm, but he was very worried about his sister. He could do nothing to help her, and she had to make her own choices—and face the consequences of those choices. Even so, Lowie understood the dangers she intended to face deep in the underlevels of the rain forest on the Wookiee planet.

He ran his long, strong fingers over the pearly strands of his fiber belt, woven from threads harvested from the deadly jaws of the carnivorous syren plant. It had been quite an ordeal for him to obtain those strands, but he had succeeded. Alone.

Lowie sat still as the air cooled and the noises of the jungle grew louder. Evening insects and predators stirred and went about their business.

At his side the miniaturized translating droid, Em Teedee, remained silent—switched off, so that Lowie could ponder his concerns without being interrupted by synthesized chatter. He sat back, and time passed. He would be late for evening meal back at the Jedi academy, but he didn’t mind.

He had more important things to worry about.

By the time Jaina Solo finished her meal inside the Great Temple, most of the other Jedi trainees had left the eating area. Preoccupied, she slurped the last morsels of roasted crab nuts and salted boffa fruit, dabbing up the juice with a chunk of fresh bread.

Beside her at the table, her twin brother Jacen had only half finished his meal; a droplet of greenish syrup ran unnoticed down his chin. Jacen spoke excitedly, his brandy-brown eyes blinking as he ran a hand through his tousled brown hair.

“And I did manage to catch that stinger lizard down in the hangar bay. It’s taken me weeks to coax him out of hiding. He’s all by himself now in that new cage you built for me, but I’m not sure what he eats.” He paused briefly to stuff some food into his mouth.

Jaina nodded, only half listening. She was concerned that Lowbacca hadn’t shown up to eat. Their Wookiee friend had been reserved lately, keeping to himself, speaking little even to his closest friends.

“Not to mention that several of the cocoons for my beetle moths are about to hatch!” Jacen continued. “I think I’m going to let most of them go, but I want to keep two as specimens, to see if they’ll lay eggs in captivity. And you should see the fascinating blue fungus I found in a crack between some stones down by the river.”

He gulped more juice, then suddenly held up a finger as he remembered something. “Oh yes, I’ve been meaning to ask—could you check the cage for my crystal snake? I think he’s up to some mischief, maybe even trying to break out again—and you know what trouble that would cause.”

Jaina couldn’t help indulging in a quick giggle, remembering the pandemonium the nearly invisible snake had caused the last time it had gotten loose: the serpent had bitten the uppity student Raynar, sending the boy instantly to sleep. Not all of Jacen’s pets caused trouble, though. Another crystal snake had helped to divert the lost TIE pilot Qorl from his attack on the Jedi academy, shortly after the twins had found Qorl living in self-imposed exile deep in the jungles of Yavin 4.

Jaina had hoped the old TIE pilot might have a soft spot for them after their efforts to help him, but Qorl had chosen not to become their ally. Instead, the Imperial brainwashing he had undergone resurfaced and became even more deeply entrenched. The pilot had returned to the remnants of the Empire, where he had fallen in with the Shadow Academy.

Jaina nodded to her brother, shaking herself from her reverie. “Okay, I’ll take a look at the crystal snake cage.”

She whirled as she heard the tinny mechanical voice of Em Teedee saying, “Master Lowbacca, I must urge you to ingest a wider variety of nourishment than that. According to your species’ nutritional requirements, those foods are insufficient for a growing Wookiee to maintain a healthy level of energy … though I must admit you have been sulking lately instead of engaging in physical activities. Your diet should consist primarily of large quantities of fresh meat, which is substantially higher in protein than those fresh fruits and vegetables you’re presently consuming.”

Lowbacca answered with only a halfhearted growl as he carried his food into the eating area. Without even looking for his friends among the other Jedi trainees, he sat by himself at a small table against the stone wall.

“Lowie!” Jaina got up and hurried over to the ginger-furred Wookiee. “We were worried about you. You didn’t come join us for the meal.”

Lowie grunted something too brief for Em Teedee to translate.

Jaina pulled up a wooden chair across from their Wookiee friend and straddled it. Tucking a long strand of straight brown hair behind her right ear, she looked with concern at Lowie’s shaggy head. The Wookiee turned his golden eyes down and studied the fruits and greens on his platter.

“Lowie, will you please tell us what’s wrong?” Jaina said. “You can talk to us. We’re friends, remember? Friends help each other.”

Em Teedee spoke before Lowbacca could respond. “He won’t answer you, Mistress Jaina. Even I can’t get a response out of him. I’m afraid I’ll never understand Wookiee behavior. Do all biological creatures have these unpredictable moods?”

Jacen sat down beside his sister. “Hey, maybe Lowie just wants to be left alone.”

The young Wookiee groaned and nodded dejectedly. Jaina sighed, gradually realizing that perhaps the best thing she could do for her friend would be to respect Lowie’s wishes and let him solve his problems on his own. He knew he could talk to Jaina or Jacen anytime he wanted—but right now he didn’t want to.

“All right,” Jaina said, maintaining her deeply troubled expression, “but remember we’re here for you, whenever you need us.”

Lowie nodded, then stretched out one hairy arm to clasp Jaina’s hand in his. The Wookiee’s large grip engulfed her entire hand. During the brief touch, she reached out with the Force, hoping to find a clue to Lowie’s strange behavior, but all she sensed was warmth and friendship.

Jaina stood up and gestured to her brother. “Come on, Jacen. Let’s have a look at that crystal snake cage.”

Lightsabers flared into the night, reflecting off the ancient stone walls of the Great Temple. Tenel Ka gripped the carved rancor-tooth handle of her new weapon as its brilliant turquoise beam pulsed through the activating crystal, a precious rainbow gem of Gallinore she had taken from her own royal tiara.

The warrior girl stood in the flagstoned courtyard at the side of the ziggurat temple, a newly refurbished training area the students had reclaimed from the ever-encroaching jungle. The hardworking Jedi candidates had cleaned and polished the carefully set stones for exercises just such as this.

Tenel Ka gazed across at the alien mother-of-pearl eyes, elven features, and long quicksilver hair of her opponent—Tionne, the Jedi trainer and historian who often assisted Master Skywalker. The Jedi woman used her lightsaber with precision, matching Tenel Ka’s moves stroke for stroke.

During an earlier training accident, Tenel Ka’s poorly constructed lightsaber had exploded, and her friend Jacen’s lightsaber blade had severed her left arm. Now Tenel Ka lived and fought with only one hand. But she wielded her glowing energy blade with strength and confidence.

Although skilled biotechnicians had offered her the best prosthetic arm replacement in the Hapes Cluster, Tenel Ka had turned them down. She prided herself in being herself—relying on her own abilities, her own strength and prowess. She did not want the artificial assistance of a biomechanical limb. Instead, she chose to alter her means of achieving her goal. She was determined to be as strong and as capable as ever before.

And when Tenel Ka determined to do something, she usually accomplished it.

Bright lights on the cleared landing grid in front of the temple illuminated the jungle, attracting thousands of nocturnal insects and the flying predators that fed on them. In the flagstoned courtyard, though, only the flares and flashes of intersecting lightsaber blades disturbed the night, bathing the area in a dazzling multicolored glow.

Tionne countered the warrior girl’s stroke. “Very good, Tenel Ka,” the teacher said. “You are learning to focus on precision rather than brute strength, to anticipate my moves and your own reactions using the Force.”

Tenel Ka nodded, and her heavy red-gold braids danced around her head. The beads she had woven into the braids jingled and clacked together. She fought harder, sensing the control and skill of this older Jedi, who had been training for more than ten years now.

Several other students had come out to watch the exercises. All of Master Skywalker’s Jedi candidates had intensified their training efforts, now that the New Republic was sure of the growing threat posed by the Shadow Academy and the Second Imperium. For more than a thousand generations, Jedi Knights had been the forces of light throughout the galaxy, and Luke Skywalker intended to continue the tradition.

Tionne swung her weapon with a calm, smooth gesture so unexpected that Tenel Ka barely reacted in time. She had sensed no intention of a counterattack from the silver-haired scholar, and so Tionne had surprised her. Their blades locked and sizzled—and then Tionne pulled her lightsaber back.

“Halt,” she said, and switched off her weapon, leaving the warrior girl to stand with her own lightsaber blazing in her hand.

Tionne gestured up into the night sky of Yavin 4. The other students around the flag-stoned courtyard stood up to watch. Just then, the twins Jacen and Jaina emerged from a low stone arch in the side of the Great Temple, hoping to observe Tenel Ka at her exercises. Instead, they all saw a glowing light streaking toward them like a tiny meteor.

“Hey, it’s a ship!” Jacen said.

“Not just any ship,” Jaina added. “I’d recognize it anywhere!”

Jacen blinked. “Hey, Dad never told us he was coming!”

Within a few moments the ship swooped down with a roar of its sublight engines and powered-up repulsorlifts. The flat, pronged disk of the Millennium Falcon settled with a loud hiss onto the landing pad.

Talking excitedly with each other, Jacen and Jaina rushed from the courtyard out onto the close-cropped weeds of the landing field to greet their father. The modified light freighter’s boarding ramp extended, and Han Solo strode down it. A lopsided grin appeared as his children greeted him with wild enthusiasm.

When Chewbacca bounded down the ramp, Tenel Ka heard a bellow of greeting from behind her. She turned to see Lowbacca on one of the pyramid’s stone ledges above the training area. He swung himself over the ledge and scrambled down the sloping temple blocks to reach the ground. Chewbacca roared a response to his nephew.

Lowbacca had been very troubled recently, and Tenel Ka could sense many deep thoughts working through his brain. She had decided to honor her Wookiee friend by letting him fight his own battles … unless he asked for help. But when she saw the expressions on Chewbacca’s and Lowie’s faces, Tenel Ka grasped a strange and interesting fact.

Although the twins had been surprised by the unexpected appearance of the Millennium Falcon, Lowbacca had known full well that the ship was coming.