Trouble on Cloud City

4

When the Young Jedi Knights accompanied Lando into the sprawling construction site of his high-tech entertainment complex, Jaina looked around in amazement.

Once completed, the amusement park would be an imaginary city within the floating city, with rides, games, food booths, themed “shopping environments,” and live-action shows. SkyCenter Galleria would be a fabulous vacation spot for sentient creatures of all ages. There was no doubt that the high-altitude entertainment center offered fun for everyone.

But the sad news about Cojahn had not left Lando and the young Jedi Knights much in the mood for fun.

Lando held a small datapad that projected a holographic model of the SkyCenter Galleria plans, but he rarely consulted the schematics as he walked along through the bustling, confusing construction site. Since learning about the death of his friend and partner, Cloud City’s former Baron-Administrator seemed to lack enthusiasm for the promising investment.

Lando used his passcard to enter the site’s work areas, and his guests followed him, curious but also wary around the sparking laser welders and the groaning repulsor-cranes. Temporary fabric walls and force-field windows protected the structures and circuitry from the elements.

“Pretty different from when the New Republic engineers rebuilt the Great Temple at the Jedi academy,” Jaina said.

“This is just a bit more modern than a four-thousand-year-old pyramid in the jungles,” Lando pointed out.

Tenel Ka peered upward at the girders and levitating scaffolds that Ugnaught construction workers were using to build the upper gondolas and sweeping tracks of amusement rides. “Impressive,” she said.

“D’you think we could have fun here?” Jacen asked her. “When it’s all done, I mean.”

“It seems designed to be most amusing,” Tenel Ka observed in a deadpan voice.

As they walked along, Lando squinted up at the uniformed workers. A gray-tufted Ugnaught shift supervisor chittered at him, then squeaked what must have been an announcement for all the construction workers to take a brief break. The shift supervisor descended from the top of a tall hovercoaster section, swinging down arm over arm from a lattice of support structures until he landed in front of Lando.

He chattered along in a lengthy speech, waving his arms and gesticulating as he made some sort of explanation. From Lowie’s side Em Teedee piped up, “I believe I speak Ugnaught rather well, Master Calrissian. Would you like me to translate?”

“Not necessary, Em Teedee,” he said. “I spent plenty of years on Cloud City. I wouldn’t have been much good as a Baron-Administrator if I couldn’t speak Ugnaught, now would I?”

Lando chattered something back in the alien-sounding language. The Ugnaught shift boss nodded, then leapt to a crossbrace on the hovercoaster track and clambered up, yelling for the crew to get back to their duties. The other Ugnaughts returned to work, attaching crossbraces to the high-speed levitating hovercoaster.

“The new shift supervisor says everything’s on schedule,” Lando told them.

“What happened to the previous supervisor?” Zekk asked, narrowing his eyes against the flickering play of shadows, dazzling laser light, and high-spectrum glowpanels.

“Cojahn fired him a few days before he fell from the balcony. Kind of a feisty Ugnaught. He was always arguing with Cojahn about something. Distinctive-looking guy, I guess. According to the records, a patch of fur got burned off his head in an accident, because he refused to use appropriate safety procedures.” Lando frowned suspiciously. “Apparently Cojahn disagreed with the former supervisor’s methods. His replacement, though, assures me that Cojahn was a good boss, very attentive, insisting that all work be done to exacting standards. He accepted slower progress just so they could add more safety features.” Lando shook his head.

Jaina stepped closer to him. “If Cojahn was so concerned with safety, it doesn’t seem likely he’d be careless enough to slip and fall off a dangerous outer balcony.”

“Not on your life,” Lando said vehemently. “Cojahn was so careful, so protective of other people and his own safety he wouldn’t even let his daughters sit in their repulsorswings without being strapped in. He’d never have just fallen off a balcony.”

“He could have jumped though,” Anja suggested in her usual sour tone. She tossed her long mane of hair behind her shoulders and straightened the headband. “Couldn’t take the pressure or the responsibility, maybe? You never can tell about some people.”

“I can,” Lando said. “And I can tell you that Cojahn would never have taken a swan dive—and certainly not at this time in his life. Everything was going right for him. This was gonna be our big break.”

Together, they continued walking through a narrow, oddly angled corridor. The trapezoidal walls and upwardly sloping ramps seemed designed to disorient and confuse any visitors. Moving mirrors added to the confusion, and Jaina found it difficult to keep her footing.

As they stepped past a set of hidden sensors that triggered a new display, glimmering images of slavering holographic monsters suddenly appeared in the air. Scaled and clawed beasts lunged out of darkened alcoves with ferocious synthesized roars.

Zekk yelled. Lowie snarled. Tenel Ka leapt into a battle stance, yanking the rancor-tooth lightsaber loose from her belt. But Jacen just laughed, making a face at the hideous images. “Those simulated creatures are ridiculous, Lando,” he said. “Who could believe anything that ugly would exist in this universe?”

Anja just snorted. “I’ve seen plenty of ugly things.”

“Okay, but the feel is all wrong. If these are supposed to be land-bound predators, they need some sort of camouflage coloring, not glowpanel yellow or repulsorjet blue. They wouldn’t all come from the same direction, either. You could add some high ledges or branches. And it wouldn’t be hard to program your holobeasts to respond to visitors’ movements.”

Lando glanced appraisingly at the illusionary monsters, which still roared and slashed ineffectively at them. He waved his hands in front of the nearest image; the projected beast didn’t react. “Maybe you’re right, Jacen. We should make the holothreats a bit more interesting at that.”

Next they passed an enormous antigravity play-chamber—currently nonfunctional. The spherical room had padded walls and strange formed-foam obstacles protruding from the sides. As Jaina peered through one of the observation ports, she could see that the chamber must have been tested at least once, judging by the discarded, dented paint containers and the splatters that had all fallen in an impact pattern around the curved walls.

Lando punched a command into his datapad and reoriented his holographic model. As the others drew closer to look at the tiny rendering of the amusement park, he pointed out the various rides and experience chambers he and Cojahn had planned in their grand scheme for SkyCenter Galleria.

“Some of this was going to be in Phase II.” He shook his head. He kept his voice flat as he struggled to control his emotions, though Jaina could tell that Lando remained deeply disturbed. “We’d intended this place to be a long-term investment, our greatest success. We had a ten-year plan for expanding, bringing in new people.”

He stared upward at the catwalks, support braces, and colorful backdrops of cloth. “That’s why it was so important for me to have you kids here as ‘test consultants.’ We wanted to get everything right—the look, the details, the thrills. Now I don’t know how I’m gonna do half of this by myself.”

“Can’t you find other investors?” Jacen asked. “This place is a great idea.” Tenel Ka looked at him, and Lowie grumbled a comment.

Lando nodded sincerely. “Probably, in a pinch—but it won’t be the same. Half of SkyCenter Galleria was Cojahn’s idea.” They arrived at the top of a vortex tunnel. “This one was my idea, though.”

Bright red-and-white barricades blocked off the dangerous-looking pit… but the barricades looked like props, part of the scenery. Stepping closer, Jaina looked down into the ominous shaft, where mist and colored lights swirled, increasing the mystery.

“Come on, it’s about time we had a little fun,” Lando said. “Follow me, everybody.”

He grabbed Jaina’s arm and the two of them jumped into the hole. Instinctively she cried out. Before she knew it, Jacen and Tenel Ka had jumped in after them. Anja fought unsuccessfully when Zekk pushed the older girl into the pit, then jumped in with Lowie close behind.

As Jaina dropped, she could hear the miniaturized translating droid scolding as they all dropped down, down…. “Oh my! Master Lowbacca, are you absolutely certain that this is safe? It may not have been tested yet. We could be doomed….”

Jaina clamped her mouth shut and let herself fall, drifting down, confident that Lando would never have led them into danger, though she realized his stunned grief might have caused him to be more impetuous than he normally would have been.

One by one they dropped. First they descended through a blast of supercold mist that froze into frost on the tiny hairs on Jaina’s arms. Next they dropped through a warm, tropical steam. They kept falling, swirling, spinning around as cyclonic winds tugged them from level to level. Loud rushing sounds roared in their ears as they plunged past speakers embedded in the walls, no doubt intended to increase the sensation of speed and “danger” in their fall.

Finally, after they’d passed through a raft of semi-solid bubbles that slowed their descent, a blasting air cushion rocketed up from below. Suddenly buoyant, they drifted gently down to land on a thick pad at the bottom.

With a carefree laugh, Jaina reached up to catch her brother, while the big hairy mass of Lowbacca nearly bowled Lando over on the mat. They staggered off the padded landing platform into the holding area.

“Did you kids enjoy that?” Lando said, checking a bank of controls and overrides. All the lights registered green.

“We loved it,” Jaina said.

“Can we do it again?” Jacen asked.

“Dear me, no! Please feel free to enjoy the experience without me next time,” Em Teedee huffed.

“It was quite stimulating,” Tenel Ka agreed.

Without a word, Anja smoothed back her hair and adjusted her garments. She glared daggers at Zekk, but he didn’t seem to care.

“I’d call that a successful test run,” Lando said, then sighed. “Maybe this will work out after all.”

“I sure hope so,” Jaina said.

As he walked along between utility sheds and piles of supply crates, listening to the construction sounds and the movement of materials from the Port Town docks and the other levels on Cloud City, Lando placed his hands on his hips. He had begun to recover from his shock and now replaced it with a grim determination.

“The SkyCenter construction’s on track,” he said. “Cojahn took care of that much, at least, but I’ve still got about a thousand administrative details to take care of. That was my end of the bargain.” He heaved a heavy sigh and muttered to himself. “I sure could’ve used your help right now, old buddy. Whatever made you stumble off the edge of a city in the clouds?” He shook his head.

Jaina bit her lip and said out loud what she knew must have been on everyone else’s minds. “Maybe he didn’t. What if he was pushed?”

Lando looked at her sharply, his big brown eyes narrowing. “I’ve considered that.”

Anja crossed her arms over her chest and let out a snort. “Yeah, right,” she said. “Always look for something sinister.”

“It makes a whole lot more sense than to think that he jumped of his own free will,” Lando said, his nostrils flaring.

“We’ll never know unless we investigate,” Zekk said.

Lowie gave a Wookiee grumble, and the little droid translated. “Master Lowbacca says there can be no doubt that something very much out of the ordinary is going on here. Cloud City does not… smell right.”

Jacen clapped one hand on his sister’s shoulder and one on Tenel Ka’s. “And we’ll do our best to help you look into it, Lando. We’re Jedi Knights, after all. This is part of our job.”

“This is a fact,” Tenel Ka agreed.

“Well then, what’re we waiting for?” Jaina asked. Lowie took up the challenge with a roar.

Lando looked gratefully at the companions. “You know, kids, one of the things I’ve learned in my life is never to turn down a sincere offer of help—especially if the offer comes from a Jedi Knight.”