Shards of Alderaan

by Kevin J. Anderson

  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 caneven find what Nolaa Tarkona is lookingfor 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."

  ----------------IT WAS LATE afternoon when the Rock Dragon and the

  Millennium Falcon touched down on the landing field near the Great

  Temple. The Hapan ship's engines still sounded weary and uneven as it

  descended through the humid atmosphere-but the craft flew passably, and

  had made it through hyperspace all the way back to Yavin 4

  without a mishap.

  Jacen couldn't remember the jungles of Yavin 4 ever looking greener,

  more full of life. The distant sun sparkled brightly. He couldn't put

  his finger on why, but a flood of excitement and anticipation rushed

  through his veins like a babbling brook.

  Tenel Ka turned to him and quirked an eyebrow as the craft settled to

  the ground.

  'Yavin 4 does seem beautiful," she said, looking at him with a surprised

  expression, tossing red-gold braids away from her face. Jacen wondered

  if she had picked up on his emotions.

  Jaina powered down the Rock Dragon's engines. 'I know what you mean. I

  feel the same. I'm looking forward to getting back to work on the

  reconstruction efforts around here-and even to all those tedious Jedi

  practice exercises."

  Lowie gave a thoughtful rumble. With a whine and a blast of

  altitude-control jets, the Millennium Falcon landed beside them.

  "Vv'hen I saw the Great Temple from up in the sky, I felt relief," Tenel

  Ka continued. "From that altitude I could see no damage-only that the

  temple was still there, surrounded by all the jungle.

  Strange 'Maybe it's not so strange," Jaina said.

  "After seeing what the Death Star did to Alderaan, knowing that there's

  no way to repair that kind of destruction, I feel lucky that we all made

  it back here in one piece.

  Remember, the Death Star almost did the same thing to Yavin 4."

  Lowie gave a short woof. "Oh, I agree, Master Lowbacca," Em Teedee

  said. 'I have a definite preference for my planets and moons to be in

  one piece." Lowie finished the ship's shutdown procedures, and Jaina

  flicked the switch that extended the landing ramp. Han Solo and

  Chewbacca had already emerged from the Millennium Falcon.

  "Look, there's Mom and Anakin,' Jaina said, pointing out the front

  viewports, shading her eyes from the bright afternoon sunlight.

  Watching his father dash down the ramp of the Falcon and swing Leia into

  his arms, Jacen suddenly remembered why he had felt so excited.

  Tonight, the entire Solo family would be together to celebrate his

  mother's birthday.

  Jacen snatched open his crash webbing.

  He grinned a challenge at his sister. "Race you!" Before she even had a

  chance to say "What are- you waiting for?" he scrambled out of his seat

  and headed for the exit.

  That evening hundreds of torches flickered in the warm night air,

  decorating the Great Temple on Yavin 4. They burned at each corner on

  all levels of the pyramid, running in brilliant zigzagged columns up

  both sides of the stairways.

  Jaina looked down the long wooden tables that had been used for her

  mother's birthday feast. The Jedi students and instructors, the New

  Republic engineers, and the few dignitaries who had come from Coruscant

  were just beginning to disperse, but Han, Luke, the twins, and Anakin

  would stay for a smaller, more private celebration, along with the

  family's closest friends, Chewbacca, Lowie, and Tenel Ka. Surrounded by

  her husband and children, Leia seemed unusually relaxed and contented.

  "Happy birthday, Mom," Jaina said.

  "I couldn't have asked for any more wonderful gift than to have my whole

  family with me," Leia answered. "It's such an unusual occurrence these

  days. And your father was very mysterious about this trip you all

  took."

  Jaina suddenly wondered if she and Jacen had made the wrong choice for

  their mot
her's present. Would Leia be disappointed by the gift they had

  brought? Would it bring back too many painful memories about her lost

  home of Alderaan? What if it only saddened her?

  Han put his arm around Leia. "The kids have a presentation to make.

  They got you something special." Jaina glanced at Anakin, who quickly

  got the message. Her younger brother had always been perceptive. "I'll

  go first," he said.

  Anakin flicked his ri-inge of straight brown hair away from his eyes and

  gently set a wrapped package the size of his fist on the table in front

  of his mother.

  Leia carefully untied the strings and pulled back the glittering mesh

  that covered the gift. "Oh, Anakin. It's beautiful," she said, holding

  up a tiny stone replica of the Great Temple, a small ziggurat complete

  with the most meticulous details.

  "I used the hologram as a pattern. I made this out of broken stone

  shards from the temple, pieces crushed too finely to use in the

  rebuilding. It's to reraind you of what the temple will look like

  again, once weire all finished."

  Jaina's throat tightened at the sight of the massive pyramid, intact

  again, if only in miniature. She nodded to Jacen, who reached beneath

  his seat, pulled out the gift that they had brought, and placed it on

  the table with a soft thunk.

  Their mother gave them a grateful smile.

  "It's heavy-what is it, a rock?" Jaina had prepared a speech to go with

  it, but suddenly she found she couldn't remember the words. She watched

  silently as her mother unwrapped the brightly colored cloth that held

  the shard of Alderaan.

  Lowbacca and Tenel Ka both looked on intently, in silence.

  Leia studied it, ran her fingers over the metal's sparkling, faceted

  surface as if it crackled with electricity. "It's from Alderaan, isn't

  it?" she asked in a whisper.

  'We wanted you to have a special piece of your home," Jaina said in a

  strained voice.

  "We know how much Alderaan meant to you, and that the Empire destroyed

  itbut in a sense, it's not really gone. We're children of Alderaan,

  too, because you passed on what you learned there to us. In a way, the

  spirit of Alderaan is very much alive."

  "It's from the core of the planet," Jacen added. "From its heart."

  Tears filled Leia's eyes. 'Yes, I know it's from the heart," she said.

  "From Alderaan's, and from yours, as well. The heart is the one thing

  the Empire could never destroy. Those of us who survived-who weren't on

  the planet when it was blown up-carry the heart of Alderaan inside us.

  And we pass it on to our children."

  "And speaking of children of Alderaan," Han said, looking at the twins,

  "your mom and Luke and I talked to Raynar this afternoon, let him know

  what's been going on with Boba Fett and Nolaa Tarkona and the bounty on

  his father's head."

  "Han tells me that your friend Zekk offered to help us search for Boman

  Thul," Leia said. "That's a brave thing for him to do. He must know

  there'll be danger."

  "Oh, I'm sure he knows," Jaina said.

  "But he's changed. Everything changes, I guess. We just have to work

  hard to make the best of all those changes."

  Suddenly she felt a pang of guilt over her selfishness. In her

  excitement at being reunited with her family, Jaina had completely

  forgotten about Raynar. At the moment, the young man had no hope of

  seeing his parents or any other relatives. He couldn't even be sure his

  father was still alive.

  46fr Raynar could really use some good lends right now," Luke said. Her

  uncle's tone was mild, but Jaina heard the gentle rebuke in his words.

  She resolved to include the other boy more often in their daily

  activities. Glancing atjacen, she saw that the same thoughts seemed to

  be running through his mind as well.

  'This is a fact," Tenel Ka murmured.

  Lowbacca gave a thoughtful growl.

  Leia raised a cup of juri juice. "To family," she said.

  Han lifted his cup to touch hers. 'And to appreciating what we've

  got-while we've got it."

  "To family," echoed Jacen, Jaina, Anakin, Tenel Ka, and two enthusiastic

  Wookiees.

  They all raised their cups and drank.

  ThE blESTSEttiNq SAQA CONTINUFS . . .

  WA@ IEDI KNIGHTS O@l VWA-RLRJ

  DIVERSITY ALLIANCE

  Everyone is searching for Boman Thul. Not only is he father to one of

  Jacen and Jaina's fellow students, he holds the key to a secret

  coalition gaining power in the New Republic. The Young Jedi Knights

  race across the galaxy to find him-but they may be too late. For their

  true enemy is about to show its treacherous face. And it will be

  shockingly familiar ...

  TURN Thf PACIE FOR A SPECIA[ PREVIEW Of ThE NEXT book iN ThE STAR WARS:

  YOUNG JEDI KNIGHTS SERIES: DIVERSITY ALLIANCE COMiNCi iN ApRil fROm

  Bou[EVARd Books!

  "K-UAR, FIFTH PLANET orbiting a single sun in a star system of the same

  name," Tenel Ka said, reading her datapad while sitting in one of the

  passenger seats of the Hapan passenger s.iu-l apa) a.: sustaining human

  life, but apparently abandoned for some time. . . ."

  "Does it say anything about particular cities or structures?" Jaina

  asked, craning her neck to look out the Rock Dragon's cockpit

  windowport, peering down toward the vast planet below.

  "Unfortunately, no," Tenel Ka said, consulting the datapad again.

  Lowbacca rumbled a question about the level of technology that might

  remain on the planet.

  "No data on the technology of Kuar's inhabitants. In fact,' Tenel Ka

  said, holding up a finger to forestall the question Jacen was about to

  ask, "I have nothing on the inhabitants whatsoever."

  Jacen's face fell, then he brightened again. '@at about wildlife?

  Interesting animal species, or plants?"

  Tenel Ka shook her head grimly. 'I've nothing more that is of any use

  to us, only the ramblings of historical scholars speculating about the

  original inhabitants, before the Mandalorians swept through.

  "Em Teedee, have you additional data about Kuar?" Tenel Ka asked.

  "Dear me, Mistress Tenel Ka, I'm afraid to say there's not much, really,

  aside from what you said. And the coordinates, of course-oh, here's

  something: Kuar's primary climate is semi-and." The little droid made a

  sound like an aggrieved sigh. 'I imagine that's not very useful at this

  point, is it?"

  'We'll be able to speculate all we want for ourselves in a couple of

  minutes," Jaina said. "We're almost to the atmosphere.

  Okay, hit it, Lowie."

  The young Wookiee flicked a few switches, and the ship nosed down toward

  the vast sky that provided only a thin blanket over the curved surface

  of Kuar.

  Jaina flashed a conspiratorial grin at her brother and Tenel Ka. "As I

  always say, show me-don't tell me."

  Tenel Ka raised an eyebrow and turned to Jacen. "Does she always say

  that? I have not heard her."

  Jacen merely shrugged. The Rock Dragon dove into the atmosphere.

  The surface of Kuar was indeed semiarid. The landscape alternated

  between dry du
st and occasional rock formations or sand. It seemed as

  if the dust of time had sifted over the entire world. But the

  excitement of the adventure had overtaken Jacen, and he was impatient to

  know more about the mysterious place below. "Hey, what do the readings

  say?" he asked.

  "Life forms," Jaina answered succinctly.

  "Quite a few, in fact."

  Lowie gave a thoughtful purr. "Quite right, Master Lowbacca," Em Teedee

  said.

  "There's no telling yet whether the life forms are sentient or not."

  A few thin clouds hung high in the atmosphere like worn and tattered

  lace, but they did little to obstruct Jacen's view.

  From this high up, the surface seemed relatively flat and featureless.

  "What about buildings?" he asked.

  ll,owie studied the readouts again and woofed a few times. "Most

  assuredly, Master Lowbacca. Id agree that those aren't natural

  formations," Em Teedee said. "I'd hardly call them buildings, however.

  The structures are certainly old, but there's something odd about

  them-irregular, as if they're only half there."