Dark Apprentice

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Dark Apprentice Page 24

by Kevin J. Anderson


  With Ackbar's refusal to return to Coruscant, and with Mon Mothma growing

  weaker day by day, that meant Leia had to face all the problems of the New

  Republic alone.

  Daylight shone through the rectangular skylights of the Great Temple. Kyp

  sat on an uncomfortable stone bench in the grand audience chamber, listening

  to Master Skywalker. He pretended to pay attention, though it became more

  and

  more difficult as his opinion of Skywalker's knowledge dwindled.

  The other Jedi trainees sat in rapt attention as Master Skywalker placed

  the small white Holocron on its pedestal. It told yet another story of the

  ancient Jedi Knights, extolling their heroic adventures, their battles

  against

  the dark side--all ultimately ineffectual, because the Emperor and Darth

  Vader

  had been stronger than the Jedi Knights, squashing them.

  Skywalker refused to learn from that failure. If he meant to bring the

  new Jedi Knights to greater power, he would have to recognize new abilities,

  make his Order of Jedi Knights powerful enough to resist a purge like

  Vader's.

  Exar Kun had shown Kyp the ways of the Sith. But Master Skywalker would

  never adopt those teachings. Kyp wondered why he bothered to keep listening

  to

  Skywalker. He seemed so weak, so indecisive.

  The other students were a potential wellspring of strength. They had

  learned how to tap the Force, but they had gone no further than a novice

  level, mere magicians, playacting in a role that was too big for any of

  them.

  They refused to peek behind the doors of greater power; but Kyp was not

  afraid. He could handle the responsibility.

  Another holographic gatekeeper of the Holocron appeared and began telling

  the story of how young Yoda had become a Jedi. Kyp stifled a yawn, unable to

  understand why they had to keep watching these trivial histories.

  He craned his neck to look at the walls of the enormous stone temple. In

  his mind he tried to imagine the great Sith War four thousand years ago. He

  thought of the damp-skinned Massassi race enslaved by Exar Kun, used by him

  as

  tools to build the temples that he had reconstructed from even more ancient

  and forgotten Sith records. Kun had revitalized the dark teachings, granting

  himself the title of Dark Lord of the Sith, a tradition passed down all the

  way to Darth Vader, who had been the last Sith Lord.

  Exar Kun's temples had been erected across Yavin 4--the last

  archaeological resting place of the incredibly ancient Sith race--as focal

  points for his power. Kun had ruled here on the jungle moon, controlling

  forces that had nearly defeated the Old Republic. But the warlord Jedi Ulic

  Qel-Droma had betrayed him; and all the united Jedi had swept down in a

  final

  battle on Yavin 4, exterminating the Massassi natives, leveling most of the

  Sith temples, razing most of the rain forest in a holocaust from the skies.

  But Exar Kun had managed to encyst his spirit here, waiting four thousand

  years until other Jedi came to awaken him....

  Kyp fidgeted and pretended to pay attention. The temple chamber seemed

  extremely hot. The Holocron droned on and on.

  Luke listened with a beatific smile, and the other students continued to

  observe the images. Kyp g azed at the walls and wondered why he was there.

  As half night fell across the jungles of Yavin 4, Luke Skywalker sat back

  and allowed himself to relax in one of the meeting halls. Smaller than the

  grand audience chamber, the hall had arched stone ceilings and polished

  tables, along with serviceable furniture left behind by the Rebel

  occupation.

  Bright glowlamps hung in old torch sconces.

  Luke felt bone weariness seeping through his body and hunger gnawing in

  his stomach. For now the students relaxed, recharging their mental energy.

  All day long Luke had supervised them through Force exercises, levitation

  training, visualizing battles and conflicts, sensing other animals and

  creatures in the forest, learning Jedi history from the Holocron. He was

  pleased with how well they were doing; though the death of Gantoris still

  felt

  like an open wound, he saw that his other students were making great

  progress.

  He felt confident in being able to bring back the Jedi Knights.

  One of the trainees, Tionne, sat in the corner preparing to play a

  stringed musical instrument two hollow resonating boxes separated by a shaft

  strung with tonal cords.

  "This is the ballad of Nomi Sunrider," she said, "one of the historical

  Jedi Knights." She smiled. Long silvery hair streamed past her shoulders,

  hanging down to her chest and splitting like a white-capped river down her

  back. Her eyes were small and close set, glinting with a mother-of-pearl

  sheen. Her nose was small, her jaw squarish. Luke thought she looked more

  exotic than beautiful.

  Tionne had a great passion for the old Jedi legends and ballads and

  histories. Even before Luke found her, she had dedicated her life to

  resurrecting the old stories, digging them out of the archives and

  popularizing them. Luke had tested Tionne's Jedi talent, and while her

  potential was perhaps less than the other students', she made up for it with

  absolute devotion and enthusiasm.

  The others found chairs, benches, or just a smooth spot on the floor to

  hear Tionne sing. She laid the instrument in her lap, and as the trainees

  listened, she plucked the strings with both hands, setting up an echoing

  music

  that fed and subtracted from her lyrics as she sang.

  Luke closed his eyes and heard her tale about young Nomi Sunrider, who,

  after her husband's murder, attended the Jedi training that had been meant

  for

  him. Nomi had become a pivotal character in the devastating Sith War that

  pitted Jedi against Jedi in the ancient days of the Old Republic.

  Luke smiled as he heard the music, the resonating notes, Tionne's soft

  and watery voice as she sang with passion. From the far side of the room,

  Luke

  heard a restless stirring and turned to see Kyp Durron, his face stormy with

  a

  scowl. The young man sighed, scowled again, and finally stood up,

  interrupting

  Tionne's song.

  "I wish you wouldn't perpetuate that ridiculous story," Kyp said. "Nomi

  Sunrider was a victim. She fought in the Sith Wars without ever

  understanding

  what the battles were about. She listened blindly to her Jedi Masters, who

  were afraid because Exar Kun had discovered a way for the Jedi to increase

  their power."

  Tionne set her musical instrument on the flagstones and gripped her knees

  through the fabric of her robe. Her face looked stricken, her small eyes

  glinting with confusion. "What are you talking about?" Her voice was thick

  with discouragement. "I've spent weeks reconstructing that legend. Everyone

  here knew what I was doing. If you had other information, Kyp, why didn't

  you

  share it with me?"

  "Where did you learn all this history, Kyp?" Luke said, standing up. He

 
put his hands on his hips, trying to stare Kyp down. The young man had

  become

  more and more volatile as he acquired Jedi knowledge. Calm, you must be

  calm,

  Yoda had said, but Luke didn't know how to make Kyp calm.

  Kyp flashed his glance across the trainees, who looked at him in

  astonishment. "If the Sith War had turned out differently," he said,

  "perhaps

  the Jedi Knights would have learned how to defend themselves when Darth

  Vader

  came hunting, and they wouldn't all have been slaughtered. The Jedi would

  never have fallen, and we wouldn't be here, taught by someone who doesn't

  know

  any more than we do."

  Luke remained adamant. "Kyp, tell me where you learned all this."

  Kyp pushed his lips together and narrowed his eyes. He drew several deep

  breaths, and Luke could sense the turmoil inside him, as if his mind were

  working rapidly to come up with an answer. "I can use the Holocron too," he

  said. "As Master Skywalker keeps telling us, we are all obligated to learn

  everything we can."

  Luke didn't quite believe the young man's words, but before he could ask

  another question, Artoo trundled in, warbling and chittering in alarm. Luke

  deciphered some of the electronic language. "No idea who it is?" he said.

  Artoo whistled a descending hooting negative.

  "We have a visitor," Luke announced. "A ship is landing on the grid right

  now. Shall we go out to greet the pilot?" He turned to place a firm hand on

  Kyp's shoulder, but the young man shrugged away. "We'll discuss this later,

  Kyp."

  Relieved to have a distraction that would shatter the tension, Luke led

  the way. The other Jedi students followed him down the stone steps and

  through

  the hangar bay to the cleared landing grid.

  A small personal fighter--a Z-95 Headhunter, a sleek metallic cruiser

  often used by smugglers--circled and eased down into the clearing. The other

  students stood at the edge of the grid, but Luke came forward.

  The cockpit doors swung up like the wings of a great insect and the pilot

  emerged. Luke saw a sleek silvery suit clinging to the curves of a young

  woman's body. She stepped down, pulled off an opaque helmet and shook her

  dark

  reddish-brown hair. Her angular face had once been pinched with

  determination,

  but now seemed softened, her eyes wider, her full lips not entirely

  unaccustomed to a smile.

  "Mara Jade," Luke said.

  She tucked the helmet under her left arm, squeezing it against her rib

  cage. "Hello, Luke." She looked at him with just the hint of a friendly

  expression, then raised her eyebrows. "Or do I have to call you "Master

  Skywalker" now?"

  Luke shrugged, holding out his arms to welcome her. "That depends on why

  you're here."

  She left the Headhunter open behind her as she strode across the clearing

  to take his hand in greeting. Then she swiveled in a military-style maneuver

  to survey the dozen students that had come to Luke's training center.

  "You told me I had the ability to use the Force," she said. "I came here

  to learn more about it. Jedi powers could help me run the smugglers' guild."

  She unzipped a flexible pouch at her side and tugged out a packet of

  microcompacted folds of cloth, more than Luke could believe would fit inside

  a

  tiny package. She shook the brownish folds, unwrapping her garment.

  She looked at the identical garments on all of Luke's trainees and then

  back at him. "See," she said. "I even brought a Jedi robe."

  Over a generous meal of spiced runyip stew and bowls of chopped edible

  greens, Luke watched Mara Jade feed herself as if she were famished. Luke

  savored every bite, sensing the nutrients and energies as they slowly

  permeated his body.

  "The New Republic is counting on your Jedi Knights, Luke, and things are

  getting much worse out there," she said.

  Luke leaned forward, lacing his fingers together and trying to pick up

  echoes of her emotions. "What's happening?" he said. "We're starved for

  news."

  "Well," Mara Jade said, still chewing a mouthful of greens. She swallowed

  and took a drink of cold spring water, frowning at it as if she had expected

  something else.

  "Admiral Daala has continued her depredations. She doesn't seem to be

  allied with any of the Imperial warlords. From what we can tell, she's just

  trying to cause a lot of damage to anyone who opposed the Empire--and she is

  causing plenty of damage. You know that she has been hitting supply ships,

  blowing them out of space? She leveled the new colony on Dantooine."

  "Dantooine!" Luke said.

  Mara looked at him. "Yes, isn't one of your students from that group of

  people?"

  Luke sat rigid. Some of the trainees gasped in shock. His mind whirled,

  thinking of all the refugees he had helped relocate to a supposedly safe

  place

  from the treacherous world of Eol Sha. But now they had been wiped out.

  "Not anymore," he said. "Gantoris died. He was... unprepared for the

  powers he tried to use."

  Mara Jade raised her thin eyebrows, waited for him to explain further.

  When Luke said nothing else, she continued. "The worst part was when Daala

  struck the planet Calamari. Seems she meant to take out the orbiting

  shipyards, but Admiral Ackbar recognized her tactics. He blew up one of her

  three Star Destroyers - comb Daala still managed to sink two Calamarian

  floating cities. Countless thousands died."

  Kyp Durron stood up at the far end of the long table. "Daala lost another

  one of her Star Destroyers?"

  Mara Jade looked at him as if noticing the young dark-haired man for the

  first time. "She still has two Star Destroyers, and no inhibitions. Admiral

  Daala can still cause incredible destruction, and she has a weapon no one

  else

  seems to have she knows she's got nothing to lose."

  "I should have sacrificed myself," Kyp said. "I could have killed her

  with my bare hands when I was on the Gorgon."

  He lowe red his voice, relating the story Luke already knew. "We stole the

  Sun Crusher out from under her nose, and we wasted our opportunity. We had a

  weapon that could have struck a decisive blow against the worlds still loyal

  to the Empire--but what did we do with it? We threw the Sun Crusher into a

  gas

  planet where it won't help us at all."

  "Calm," Luke said. He gestured for Kyp to sit back down, but Kyp placed

  his hands flat on the veined stone table, leaning over to glare at Luke.

  "The Imperial threat is not going to go away!" he said. "If we pool our

  Jedi powers, we can resurrect the Sun Crusher, tear it out from the core of

  Yavin. We can take it and go hunt the Imperials. What could be a clearer

  mission for us? Why are we just hiding here on this backwater moon?"

  He paused, fuming. When the other students looked at him, Kyp glared back

  at them. "Are you all stupid?" he shouted. "We don't have the luxury to

  fine-

  tune our levitating abilities, or balance rocks, or sense rodents out in the

  jungle. What good does tha
t do? If we aren't going to use our powers to help

  the New Republic, then why bother?"

  Luke looked at Mara Jade, who seemed greatly interested in this

  discussion. He refocused his attention on Kyp. The young man's meal was

  practically untouched.

  "Because that isn't the Jedi way," Luke said. "You've studied the Code.

  You know how we must approach a difficult situation. The Jedi do not set out

  to destroy recklessly."

  Kyp turned his back on Luke and stormed toward the door of the dining

  chamber. At the arched stone entrance to the room, Kyp whirled and said, "If

  we don't use our power, then we may as well not have it. We're betraying the

  Force with our cowardice."

  He gritted his teeth, and his words came out much more quietly. "I'm not

  certain what else I can learn here, Master Skywalker." With that, he

  vanished

  into the corridor.

  Kyp felt his skin tingling with barely contained power, as if his blood

  had begun to fizz inside of him. He moved down the temple corridors like a

  projectile, and when he reached the heavy door to his quarters, he used the

  force to fling it open and slam it against the far wall with enough strength

  to flake a long splinter of stone from the blocks.

  How could he ever have admired Master Skywalker? What did Han Solo see in

  him as a friend? The Jedi teacher was blind to reality, ignoring problems,

  covering his eyes with his Jedi cloak, and refusing to use his own powers

  for

  the good of the New Republic! The Empire remained a threat, as Daala's

  attacks

  on Calamari and Dantooine demonstrated--if Skywalker refused to use his

  powers

  to wipe out the enemy, then perhaps his convictions were not strong enough.

  But Kyp's were.

  He could stay at the Jedi academy no longer. He yanked at the collar of

  his robe to tear it off. From his stash of personal belongings Kyp pulled

  out

  a satchel that contained the flowing black cape that Han had given him as a

  good-bye gift. During his training at the praxeum, he had been content to

  wear

  the rough old robe Master Skywalker provided. But now he wanted nothing more

  to do with it.

  Exar Kun had shown him how to unleash great powers. Kyp did not trust the

  Sith Lord, but he could not deny the truth of what the shadow man taught.

  Kyp

  could see the power actually working.

 

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