Lightsabers

11

The buzzing vibration of the T-23 skyhopper both soothed and unsettled Jacen for some reason he could not define.

Up in the cockpit with Lowie, Em Teedee amplified his speaker volume to be heard above the whine of the engines. “Really, Master Lowbacca, I don’t see what the point of all this flying about could be, without even so much as a destination in mind.”

At Lowie’s soft growl, the little droid replied, “Therapeutic? For what? And in any case, I should think that performing some sort of physical exercise would be far more beneficial than flying aimlessly over the treetops.”

Jaina sat pensively beside Jacen in the skyhopper’s cramped passenger seat, toying with her lightsaber. “We actually tried that, Em Teedee, but lately it seems like any exercise we do only reminds us of the things we were trying to get our minds off of in the first place.”

Jacen was surprised to hear Jaina answering the pesky little droid just as Lowie had addressed it a moment earlier—without annoyance, and as a friend. In fact, a full day had passed since any of them had had the heart to switch Em Teedee off. It was as if they hoped the little translator’s chatter might fill the void that none of them wished to think about.

But something was missing, Jacen thought. Different. Under normal circumstances he probably would have been crowded into the tiny cargo well behind the passenger seat … and he would have happily endured that discomfort, if it meant that Tenel Ka could have been with them, sitting where he now sat.

“Oh, dear me!” Em Teedee said in a much subdued voice. “How terribly insensitive my processor can be. You’ve all been thinking of Mistress Tenel Ka, haven’t you? I am dreadfully sorry.”

Jacen saw Lowie reach down to give the little droid what looked like a comforting pat. Now that Em Teedee had brought up the subject the friends had been avoiding, Jacen felt Tenel Ka’s absence all the more keenly.

“It’s okay, Em Teedee,” Jaina said. “We all miss her.”

Jacen sighed. “I wish I could just talk to her.”

Jacen, Lowie, and Em Teedee voiced agreement. Then, as though they had discussed it and come to a unanimous decision, Lowie turned the T-23 about and headed back to the Jedi academy.

Master Luke Skywalker looked down at his small barrel-shaped astromech droid as they entered the hangar bay at the base of the Great Temple. “I’m fine, Artoo,” he said, answering the droid’s questioning whistle. “I just have an important decision to make.”

Luke frowned and thought back on the direct communication he had just sent to the Fountain Palace on Hapes. He had been unable to get hold of Prince Isolder and Teneniel Djo, Tenel Ka’s parents. Instead, Ta’a Chume, the matriarch of the Royal House, had come onscreen and told him in no uncertain terms that Tenel Ka’s parents were traveling outside the Hapes Cluster and could not be reached, and that the princess herself had already endured enough trauma because of her Jedi training. Under no circumstances would the young woman be allowed to speak with Master Skywalker. With that, the former queen had abruptly terminated the connection, leaving Luke with an entirely new set of concerns.

Tenel Ka’s grandmother had never approved of the direction the girl had chosen for her own life. The harsh old woman had always wanted to mold her granddaughter into a scheming politician of whom she could be proud—someone just like herself.

What if, Luke wondered, instead of supporting and comforting Tenel Ka during this time of turbulence, her grandmother chose to use Tenel Ka’s weakness to her own advantage? Without Isolder and Teneniel Djo to support their daughter emotionally, Tenel Ka might be too despondent or confused to make her own choices. It was possible she would blindly accept any decision the matriarch might make on her behalf.

Luke shook his head. Political considerations aside, Tenel Ka would not find the comfort she needed from her grandmother. He thought of the close bond the four young Jedi Knights had developed from working and training together at the academy. Tenel Ka needed that kind of closeness right now. She needed the unselfish caring that Jacen, Jaina, and Lowie could provide.

Luke had no wish to influence Tenel Ka’s decision about whether or not to return to Yavin 4; that would have to be her choice, and hers alone. And certainly any competent medical droid could be trusted to tend Tenel Ka’s physical wound. But she needed the warmth and support of friends in order to heal her emotional wounds and come to her own decision.

Luke smiled as he saw Lowbacca maneuver the T-23 skyhopper onto its pad in the hangar bay. Those Jedi trainees needed to have their emotional wounds healed as well. He straightened and walked toward the T-23. “I think we’d better do a preflight check on the Shadow Chaser, Artoo. Let’s get ready to fly.”

Artoo warbled and beeped, asking a question.

“Yes,” Luke Skywalker said. “I’ve made my decision.”

From the moment her uncle announced he would take them to see Tenel Ka after all, adrenaline began to rush through Jaina’s veins. She made a mad dash for her chambers, snatched a fresh jumpsuit, a Jedi robe, and a few other odds and ends, then stuffed them along with her lightsaber into a small flight duffel. By the time she raced back out of her quarters, down the echoing stone stairs and hallways, and out onto the landing pad, where their ship waited, she no longer had any idea what she had packed.

Jacen arrived ahead of her, running up the ramp of the sleek Shadow Chaser, a disordered pile of clean clothes tucked under one arm, his lightsaber under the other. Jaina didn’t slow as she followed him up the ramp, marveling as she always did at the powerful ship and its glossy quantum armor. The ship had once been the finest craft created by the Second Imperium. After Master Luke Skywalker and Tenel Ka had used it to rescue the twins and Lowie from the Shadow Academy, the New Republic had given the Shadow Chaser to the Jedi Master for his own use.

Once Lowie had scrambled aboard with Em Teedee, his lightsaber clipped to the webbed belt at his waist, Luke instructed Artoo-Detoo to raise the boarding ramp, and the Shadow Chaser lifted off.

Jaina felt a thrill as the Shadow Chaser’s repulsorlifts boosted them off the landing field; sublight engines kicked in, launching them away from the jungle moon. The last few minutes of rushed preparation were a blur in her mind, and she looked around for something else to speed them on their way.

Lowie rumbled a question from the navigation console, and Em Teedee answered, “No, I’m certain Master Luke doesn’t need our assistance in plotting the most efficient route.”

Her uncle smiled down at the Wookiee. “We’ll be going to lightspeed in just a few minutes. Why don’t you all try to relax, get some rest.”

Jaina took a deep breath and watched the stars through the viewports—like glittering gems sinking in a depthless black sea—until each pinprick of light elongated into a starline and the Shadow Chaser made a smooth jump into hyperspace.

The three Jedi trainees found they were too excited to rest, though. They spent the remainder of the journey trying to distract themselves aboard the tiny ship. Jaina and Lowie were just about to remove an access panel to the rear thruster stabilizers to study how they worked when Luke announced their final approach to Tenel Ka’s home planet.

The three friends rushed to the cockpit. As they took their seats behind the Jedi Master, Lowie squinted and scanned the star system around them. When she saw his ginger-furred face register surprise, Jaina looked around, seeing no nearby planet that could have been Dathomir.

“That’s odd,” she said at last. “From the descriptions I’ve heard and the star charts I’ve studied, I could swear we were in the Hapes Cluster.”

Her uncle swiveled in the pilot seat and met each pair of eyes in turn.

“We are in the Hapes system,” Luke said gravely. “It’s time I explained to you that Tenel Ka is more than just a simple warrior from a backward planet.”