Shards of Alderaan

20

The Rock Dragon drifted powerless in space among the shards of Alderaan. Jaina bit her lower lip and stared out the front viewport, her mind temporarily numb. Her thoughts seemed as unable to function as the ship’s blasted control systems.

“We’re dooooomed,” Em Teedee said in a warbling, distorted voice. “Dooooomed.”

“Hang in there, Quicksilver,” Jaina said, trying to sound calm and reassuring. “We’re not done for yet.” She turned to look at Jacen and Tenel Ka.

“Think Boba Fett’s gone for good?” she asked. Her voice came out strained and raspy. “Why doesn’t Zekk come back?”

“I sense that the bounty hunter has withdrawn,” Tenel Ka answered, “but I cannot be certain how far or for how long.”

“Hey, are all bounty hunters this persistent?” Jacen asked.

Lowie gave a low woof.

“Since Master Lowbacca’s experience with members of that unsavory profession is extremely limited, he has very little data on which to base an assessment of the personal attributes of bounty hunters,” Em Teedee translated, though Jaina had been perfectly capable of understanding Lowie’s comment, which might have been more directly translated as, “I don’t know,” or “Beats me.”

A plaintive growl issued from the young Wookiee as he tried in vain to access any of the Rock Dragon’s controls. He checked out the heat and air remaining in their ship, now that the life-support systems had been deactivated.

Jaina prodded herself back into action. “Jacen, Tenel Ka, see if you can hail the Lightning Rod.”

“We’ve been trying,” Jacen said. “So has Em Teedee. So far, no response—not to direct signals, not to our automatic distress beacon.”

Jaina felt her gut clench, fearing that Boba Fett might well have rounded on the Lightning Rod, fired a retaliatory blast … and possibly destroyed Zekk.

“Much of our equipment is malfunctioning,” Tenel Ka pointed out. “We suffered severe hits, and our transmitter repairs were makeshift and unreliable at best.”

Jaina knew that her friend was trying to keep her from thinking about Zekk. They all had enough problems without adding another worry. “What do you say, Lowie?” she asked. “Can we fix the ship without landing somewhere?”

“Oh no, not again,” Jacen muttered.

Lowie shook his shaggy head and rumbled a discouraging report on the damage the Rock Dragon had sustained during battle. Em Teedee heartily agreed from where he was hardwired into the control systems. Jaina’s heart sank. The situation sounded impossible.

But Jaina had promised her father they would get back to Yavin 4. Han Solo had trusted in their resourcefulness, and she wasn’t about to give up without a fight.

“Well,” she said with forced cheerfulness, “we’re Jedi trainees, and it’s time to prove just how much Master Luke has taught us. Besides, we have another thing to thank your grandmother for, Tenel Ka—a plentiful supply of spare parts.”

“This is a fact,” Tenel Ka said.

“Except parts for the transmitter,” Jacen reminded them glumly. “And there aren’t any spare engines.”

“Oh, my!” Em Teedee said. “I seem to be receiving another transmission—but I can’t make any sense of it. The words don’t translate well in my language data banks. I do hope it’s not another bounty hunter—if it is, I’m afraid we’re done for.”

“Put it on speaker,” Jaina said tersely.

Instantly she heard a delighted whoop, and a loud “Yeee-haa!” resounded through the cockpit, accompanied by a wordless Wookiee roar. “Kids, this is the Millennium Falcon comin’ in for a little inspection. I got your warning, and we’re ready for anything. Do you read me, Rock Dragon?”

“Dad!” Jaina yelled. “We’re fine, but we sure need some help.”

“That’s no bounty hunter, Em Teedee,” Jacen laughed.

“I’m only getting your distress beacon, Rock Dragon” Han Solo’s voice came over the speaker again, “and it’s pretty weak.” He was interrupted by a couple of loud Wookiee barks. “Right, Chewie,” Han said. “We’ve got you on visual now. Here we come.”

After a moment, they saw the familiar shape of the Falcon approach, its pronged metal disk arrowing through the rocky debris. “Hey, looks like you took some pretty heavy hits to your engines. We’re going to take the liberty of towing you to one of the larger asteroids to make repairs.”

A tractor beam locked on to the Hapan passenger cruiser, and the ship lurched. “We’ve got ya—just sit tight.”

After a few moments of joyous greetings between Han, Chewie, and the young Jedi Knights on the asteroid, they quickly got down to business making the much-needed repairs to the damaged passenger cruiser.

“How did you know to come after us, Dad?” Jaina asked. “You got here so fast.”

Han shrugged one shoulder and studied the damage to the Rock Dragon’s repulsorjets. “When you didn’t make it back to Yavin 4 after three days, like you promised, I figured you were trying to collect half the planet of Alderaan and reassemble it for your mom’s birthday. She’s due at the Jedi academy any day now, and I didn’t want to wait any longer. I guessed you might need some help.”

“So it wasn’t Boba Fett’s message that lured you here?” Jacen asked.

“Naw, we didn’t even get that until we dropped out of hyperspace, but your warning put us on our guard.” He smiled and glanced at Chewie. “We still know a thing or two about evading bounty hunters.”

Jaina swallowed hard. “I sure hope Zekk does. He followed Boba Fett after our fight, and we haven’t heard from him since.”

Han Solo gave his daughter a sympathetic look. “I’m sure he’s fine, Jaina.”

“I wish I were so sure,” Jaina said, feeling despair creep up on her.

Her father raised a hand to point at something over her left shoulder. “Well, maybe you’ll believe your own eyes—unless I miss my guess, that’s the Lightning Rod coming in for a landing right now.”

Though Zekk stood stiffly and uncertainly, Jaina gave the dark-haired boy a quick hug as soon as he stepped out of the Lightning Rod. He blushed in the dim light, then relaxed enough to hug Jaina back. They held the embrace for several seconds more.

Jacen and Han hurried over, while Chewie, Lowie, and Tenel Ka remained where they were, continuing the repairs on the Rock Dragon.

“We’ll be safe for the moment,” Zekk said, as if reluctant to step too far from his ship. “I followed Boba Fett until he dodged into hyperspace. I scored a few solid hits before his ship escaped. Don’t know how much damage I caused, but I think hell need to make some repairs himself before he tries to come back.”

Han shook his head in bewilderment. “As far as I know, there aren’t any bounties out on me anymore. What was Boba Fett after?”

“We’re not sure,” Jaina said, “but it had something to do with Raynar’s father. He thought you had some information about his whereabouts. He wanted to use us as bait.”

Han Solo looked surprised. “Bornan Thul? I wish I did know where to find him. Why would there be a bounty out on him? He’s just a member of the trade council.”

Jacen said, “Boba Fett seems to think Raynar’s father knows about something that he’s looking for, some sort of missing cargo.”

“Em Teedee managed to slice into the Slave IV’s computers, so we’ve got a little background information,” Jaina said. “Things Boba Fett probably doesn’t want us to know.”

“He’s working for Nolaa Tarkona,” Tenel Ka said.

Han gave a low whistle. “And Bornan Thul disappeared right when he was supposed to meet with her at that trade council. I thought that Twi’lek woman might’ve been behind his disappearance, but it doesn’t sound like she knows where he is either.”

“We think Nolaa Tarkona hired more than one bounty hunter to go out and look for him,” Jacen said.

Han nodded. “And Boba Fett’s the best bounty hunter there is.”

“Maybe the best—until now,” Zekk said. He had been quiet, absorbing information. Han’s eyebrows went up, and he glanced curiously at the dark-haired teenager.

“What do you mean?” Jaina asked.

Zekk raised his chin. “I’ve been to the Jedi academy, and I don’t belong there. I just went back to my home planet, Ennth, and now I’m sure that’s not the place for me either. I need to go in a new direction.” He glanced past the others, locking his gaze on Jaina’s eyes. “So I’ve decided to try my hand at being … a bounty hunter. I plan to be the best there ever was.”

Jaina bit her lower lip to stifle a gasp.

Zekk’s emerald-green eyes looked earnestly into Jaina’s. “I know I can’t go back to the way things were, and I can’t go back to who I was. We’ve talked about this before, Jaina. There’s only one direction for me to go, and that’s forward.”

“Being a bounty hunter’s hard work,” Han pointed out. “Dangerous, too. You don’t make a lot of friends.”

“I have friends,” Zekk said firmly. “I’m not looking to make many new ones. Besides, I still have some skills in the Force that other bounty hunters don’t have. And I think I’d be good at it.

“That’s how I found you here, you know,” Zekk went on. “Jaina, remember when you told me that you were thinking of coming here, to the Alderaan rubble field? I didn’t give it a second thought. But when I was drifting away from Ennth, trying to figure out where to go, letting the Force guide me, I got a strange and powerful feeling that you were in trouble. That’s why I came, at the Lightning Rod’s top speed. Good thing, too.”

He looked around, shuffling his feet uncomfortably. “Maybe as a bounty hunter I can even find what Nolaa Tarkona is looking for before anyone else does—it would serve Boba Fett right for trying to kill my friends.”

Jaina saw a familiar look come over her father’s face. Han Solo was intrigued. “You know, kid, that’s not a half-bad idea…. I think you could be some real help to the New Republic.”

Jaina saw a spark of hope lighten Zekk’s face at this encouragement, and she knew that she had lost any chance of persuading him to return with her to the Jedi academy now. But she had known that already, hadn’t she? She had only friendship to offer him, nothing more.

Jaina sighed. Forward: there was no other direction to go.

She cleared her throat, trying to ignore the painful lump forming there. “My dad knows a lot about bounty hunters and smugglers, Zekk. He’s learned plenty of tricks over the years. Maybe he could give you a few tips.” She darted a glance at her father to get his approval, and he gave her a slight nod.

Zekk’s brows drew together, and his emerald eyes darkened as if he were fighting some internal battle. Then, as quickly as it had come, the inner storm passed, and he stood straight again, his smile bright.

Zekk reached for Jaina’s hand and gave it a brief squeeze. “Thanks,” he said. “I’ll take you up on that.”