Shards of Alderaan

by Kevin J. Anderson

  starboard stabilizer, and tossed it aside. The young man grinned as he

  saw the rock fly farther than he had anticipated in the asteroid's low

  gravity.

  "Hey, it's easier than it looks!"

  "I wish we knew who our enemy is, and why he shot us down," Jaina said.

  "Maybe it's all a mistake."

  Then they whirled as blasting sounds came from the rubble wall that had

  sealed them into the cramped chamber.

  Lowbacca growled, his fur fluffing in anger as he bared his fangs.

  "Our enemy has come for us," Tenel Ka said.

  "Blaster bolts-we left our lightsabers in the ship!" Jacen cried.

  Stone shards exploded into powder at the center of the avalanche wall.

  Then, as the smoke settled and the incinerated rock cooled, a figure

  stepped through the opening, holding his blaster out and ready to fire.

  He wore scratched armor and a helmet like the ancient Mandalorian

  warriors had once used.

  Boba Fett.

  "Children of Han Solo,' the bounty hunter said in a gruff, threatening

  voice.

  Jaina sucked in a shocked breath. 'My father told us about you," she

  said, straightening to kneel on one knee on top of the ship. She

  crossed her arms over her chest. '@y have you attacked us? There's no

  bounty on our ship."

  'Hey, there's not even a bounty on our dad anymore," Jacen added.

  'I am not hunting Han Solo," Fett answered. "I have moved on to other

  assignments. Where is Boman Thul?"

  Bornan Thul? Jaina couldn't understand why the bounty hunter would be

  interested in Raynar's father, or why Fett had attacked them to get that

  information.

  "Boman Thul! How would we know where he is?" Jacen said.

  "I intercepted your transmission to his son. You reported that your

  mission was a complete success. Since Boman Thul was a noble of

  Alderaan, it makes sense that he might have chosen to hide here. You

  must have come here to meet him. Where is the man, and where is his

  cargo? I must find "Well, happy hunting then," Jaina said, scowling.

  "We don!t know where he is, and that's not at all why we came to this

  system." "Now will you let us go?" Jacen asked.

  "You will be bait, then," Fett said. "Perhaps Han Solo knows where

  Boman Thul has gone."

  'No!" Jaina cried. Lowie growled.

  The armored bounty hunter turned, strode through the small opening he

  had blasted through the rock wall. Before he disappeared back to his

  own ship, the bounty hunter fired his blaster at the roof of the small

  tunnel, bringing down a new rock slide and fusing its core.

  "Not very talkative, is he?" Jacen said.

  Tenel Ka looked around, an expression of deep concern on her face. '@o

  would set a bounty on Raynar's father-and why?"

  'And why would he want us as bait?"

  Jacen asked.

  "If he sends out a fake message, he'll lure Dad here into an ambush,"

  Jaina said.

  "Unless we can get out first. Come on!"

  Back inside their ship, the miniaturized translating droid was immensely

  pleased to see them. 'I have excellent news, Mistress Jaina and Master

  Lowbacca! When I realized that dreadful bounty hunter was outside with

  you, I took the opportunity to use our remote slicer to tap into @

  computer." Em Teedee seemed immensely pleased with himself "I assumed he

  wouldn't notice, since he was no longer aboard his ship. I've succeeded

  in retrieving all of his data files!" "Great work, Em Teedee!' Jacen

  said.

  Lowie made an appreciative noise and patted the droid's silvery external

  shell with his big hairy hand.

  "Good," Jaina said. "Now that we have Boba Fett's information, maybe we

  can find a way to get out of this alive."

  ------------------I'M IMPRESSED, EM Teedee," Jacen said, still marveling

  at the little droid's audacity.

  "@y, thank you, Master Jacen. It was nothing so remarkable, really."

  Jacen was sure the little droid would have blushed had he been able to.

  "Oh-dear me! I seem to be picking up a broadband transmission from

  Slave IV, Boba Fett's ship. It's being sent on a wide range of

  frequencies."

  "Put it through our speakers," Jaina ordered.

  "Reception is rather weak, thanks to our damaged communications dish,

  but I'll amplify as much as possible," Em Teedee said.

  Jaina and Lowie worked together to boost the gain, their fingers flying

  over the control panels.

  The ship's speakers crackled with static.

  for Han Solo . . . emergency in Alderaan system. Jacen and Jaina

  need help . . . urgent. Come alone."

  The mood in the Rock Dragon's cockpit instantly turned grim.

  "I don't get it," Jacen said, feeling more trapped and anxious than he

  had earlier.

  "Ah." Tenel Ka nodded. "Aha. Your father will naturally come if he

  believes you to be in danger."

  Jacen clenched his fists, then looked down at his hands. 'Why would

  Boba Fett think Dad could lead him to Boman Thul?"

  "Looks like Boba Fett knew that Dad and Boman Thul were on the same

  trade commission,' Jaina said, scrolling through the data Em Teedee had

  downloaded from the bounty hunter's ship. 'Let's see what else we can

  find out. Maybe if we learn who Boba Fett is working for, why he wants

  Boman Thul so badly . . ."

  Leaning over his sister's shoulder, Jacen quickly skimmed the

  information that flashed across the screen. "Fett's after something,

  all right. I just @t tell what it is."

  'That fact is never specified," Tenel Ka said.

  "Seems like Raynar's dad may be the key, though," Jaina said. "Whoever

  posted the bounty seems to think Boman Thul has-or at least knows where

  to findwhatever it is Boba Fett's after."

  Lowie gave a soft rumble. "More than one what, Lowie?" Jaina said.

  "Master Lowbacca believes that because Boba Fett has records tracking

  the movements of other searchers, it is likely that more than one bounty

  hunter was engaged to fulfill this assignment," Em Teedee clarified.

  'According to one log entry, he has apparently already destroyed one

  such rival, a man named Moorlu."

  Jacen gave a low whistle. "Somebody must really want Raynar's father."

  "Ah. Aha," Tenel Ka said, pointing to a name on the screen.

  'There-Nolaa Tarkona. It would appear that she set the bounty.

  Interesting." Jacen knew Tenel Ka expected this to mean something to

  him, but he had no idea what she was getting at. He gave her a blank

  look.

  Tenel Ka raised her eyebrows. "Recall what your father told Raynar.

  Boman Thul was on his way to a trade conference when he disappeared. At

  the conference, he was scheduled to meet with Nolaa Tarkona, a Twi'lek

  woman-one of the few females of that species ever to rise to political

  prominence. My experience with assassins and conspiracies indicates

  this connection is not entirely coincidental."

  'Seems awfully complicated" , Jacen said.

  "Dad's in trouble. Raynar's father is in trouble. We're in trouble.

  "At least now we know something about the trouble we're in," Jaina said.

  "Thanks to this information. Excellent work, Em Teedee."

 
; "Why, that's very kind of you, Mistress Jaina," the translating droid

  said. 'But the credit actually belongs to you and Master Lowbacca for

  enhancing my emergency response subroutines. I simply-" 'Speaking of

  emergency response,' Jaina broke in, 'we'd better all get back to

  digging ourselves out of this mess before Dad falls into the trap Boba

  Fett is setting for him."

  Jacen nodded. He didn't mind his sister's taking charge in a crisis.

  He knew Jaina didn't do it to show off-she took the lead because someone

  had to, and it usually just worked out that way. Jaina thought faster

  and felt more comfortable issuing orders than he did.

  'Em Teedee, try to send a message to warn Dad away from Boba Fett's

  ambush.

  I know the signal's weak, but do whatever you can to boost it until I

  can get another transmitter dish rigged."

  "I'll use every resource at my disposal, Mistress Jaina," Em Teedee

  said. "You may rely on me to do everything within my power to see

  that-"

  "Good," Jaina cut in. "Get ri on t.

  Lowie and I will work on the antenna dish and get the ship ready to fly

  again-if we can. Jacen, you and Tenel Ka go outside and see if you can

  get enough of that blockage cleared so we can fly the Rock Dragon out of

  here. Moving a little mountain of rock shouldn't be too hard if you two

  work together."

  Jacen groaned, but Tenel Ka gripped his shoulder. 'Ve will do whatever

  is necessary to get the job done. If Boba Fett believes us to be

  permanently trapped, I will be pleased to prove him wrong."

  "He probably doesn't know we can use the Force," Jacen pointed out. "It

  woiyt be much harder for us than helping Uncle Luke clear rubble at the

  Great Temple. Of course, we won't have all the other Jedi students to

  help.........

  'Ve will clear the way," Tenel Ka said confidently. "Our muscles can do

  much o the work. The Force will do the rest."

  Jacen and Tenel Ka hastily put on their breathing masks and tough,

  fleidble gloves.

  Full of determination, they stepped out into the thin, cold atmosphere

  of the darkened cave. But when they turned on their glowrods and

  approached the mounded blockage, Jacen's spirits fell. The central core

  of the debris where Boba Fett had fired his blaster to reseal the cave

  was fused into a solid rocky mass.

  "Uh-oh," he said.

  Tenel Ka gestured with her glowrod to the side of the cave-in, where the

  rock had fallen in easily manageable chunks and pebbles. Jacen moved

  over to the pile and experimentally hefted a chunk of rock twice the

  size of his head. In the low gravity, it seemed to weigh no more than a

  gort-feather pillow. Tenel Ka picked up a similar-sized rock with her

  one hand and tossed it aside with no problem.

  Next they experimented with using the Force to nudge aside larger pieces

  of rock while shoving away mounds of loose pebbles with their gloved

  hands. Though the air in the cave was as frigid as a night on Hoth,

  they both soon worked up a sweat.

  Jacen grinned at Tenel Ka, feeling a bit silly for enjoying himself so

  much-but he did like to work with the warrior girl from Dathomir. He

  found it inexplicably satisfying to be struggling with his friends to

  solve a problem. They would get themselves out of this mess -he had no

  doubt of that.

  Jacen even started trying to concoct a joke: How many Jedi does it take

  to clear an asteroid cave-in? He might have to wait until after they

  got back home, he supposed, to find the right punch line.

  When they had opened an area a meter deep beside the fused stone core,

  Tenel Ka climbed atop the rubble and withdrew her rancor-tooth

  lightsaber. Then, igniting the brilliant turquoise blade, she used it

  like a battle-ax to hack off a massive wedge of rock. Jacen caught the

  slab with the Force and diverted it quickly to one side while Tenel Ka

  sliced off another wedge, as if she were manipulating a machete to chop

  her way through a dense jungle.

  She gave Jacen an approving nod, and he knew he had been right: they

  would get out of this just fine.

  "Thanks, Lowie," Jaina said, accepting the mangled wreckage of what had

  once been their transmitter dish. The Wookiee had just dismantled it

  from the battered roof of the Rock Dragon, then hauled it inside the

  cockpit where Jaina could work on it. Parts of the dish were missing

  entirely, pulverized in the avalanche, but more than half of the

  contraption had survived-in some form. Fixing it would be the difficult

  part.

  "I'll see what I can do with this. Navigation systems, life support,

  and hyperdrive all checked out fine. I think I've got the engine fixed

  again. Can you run a diagnostic on all our exhaust ports and make sure

  they're not clogged with debris?"

  Lowie roared his agreement. "Please be careful, Master Lowbacca," Em

  Teedee called from the control console. "Did you know that twenty-one

  percent of all spaceport accidents occur while attempting to clear

  blockage to exhaust ports?"

  Lowie grumbled reassuringly and headed toward the rear of the ship.

  Kneeling down, Jaina ran a grim eye over the twisted remains of the Rock

  Dragon's transmitter dish. 'I'm not even sure there's enough here left

  to salvage." She sighed.

  "Perhaps you might consider fashioning a smaller transmitter from the

  remains of the old one," Em Teedee said.

  Jaina bit her lower lip and looked dubiously at the mangled components.

  "I'm pretty sure I can do that,' she said. "The question is, will it

  still be strong enough to send a signal? We have to warn Dad about the

  ambush."

  "I have the utmost confidence in your abilities, Mistress Jaina,' Em

  Teedee said encouragingly.

  "Yeah?" Jaina sighed again. "Well, then, don't complain if I have to

  disassemble you for spare parts."

  "I should hope that I could be of greater use to you as one complete

  unit," the little "Actually, because my own droid said.

  modest transmitter is fully integrated, I doubt-"

  "That's it!" Jaina said, slapping her palm to her forehead. "The

  modular transmitter Dad brought me. It's old, but I just may be able to

  rig something." She grinned at Em Teedee. "Don't worry, Quicksilver,

  your parts are safe. I knew we kept you around for a

  good reason."

  ----------------WITH THE STONES and debris finally cleared from the

  mouth of the cave, and knowing that Boba Fett lurked somewhere out in

  the rubble field, waiting for Han Solo, the young Jedi Knights prepared

  the Rock Dragon for a last desperate dash toward freedom.

  Jaina sat in the pilot's seat, frowning and tense as she checked the

  control readouts for the tenth time.

  "What we really need is a Mon Calamari star cruiser for what we're about

  to do," Jacen said, looking over at his sister.

  "This is a fact," Tenel Ka said, "but Master Skywalker taught us that a

  Jedi makes use of the skills she possesses-not the resources she wishes

  she had."

  'Well, here we go." Jaina fired up the Rock Dragon's repulsorjets, and

  th
e battered ship rose, blasting rock dust from the floor and walls.

  More pebbles trickled down, bouncing and sliding as the engine

  vibrations shook the asteroid. "Hang on."

  "Be careful," Jacen said. "That hole we carved isn't going to be very

  stable. It could collapse at any minute."

  Jaina shrugged. "So there's no point in sticking around any longer."

  She looked over at the Wookiee in the copilot's seat.

  'Punch it, Lowie."

  Taking a deep breath, Jacen readied himself at the comm system, prepared

  to send his warning message the moment they burst free from the

  shielding rock walls. Once they were out of the cavern, even their weak

  jury-rigged transmitter should send a discernible signal. He knew their

  father might already be on his way to rescue them-and that Boba Fett

  would be waiting to ambush the Millennium Falcon.

  With its meager engine power and its sublight drives strained to the

  maximums, the Rock Dragon shot through the broken opening. Perspiration

  rolling down her face, Jaina gripped the controls, entirely focused in