"And we thought he was on Mechis III," Jaina finished for him.
Two minutes later Raynat's uncle climbed out of his ship. His moon-round
face beamed at the assembled party. "How wonderful to see you all again. So glad
I found you. I brought some food. Would you all like to join me for"--he glanced
appraisingly at the sky--"morning meal?
I'm simply famished. Hyperspace travel really drains me."
"Uh, wait a minute," Jacen said. "Is there some kind of emergency? Didn't
you say you had business back on Mechis III?"
"I did, my dear boy--I mean, I do Tyko began to unpack a mouthwatering
array of foods from an enormous food-prep unit. "I was on my way there when I
thought to myself, Tyko, you have only one brother--and although no one else may
realize it, it's clear he's gotten himself into some sort of financial
predicament. If there's anyone who can coax him out of hiding so he can get some
help, why, it's you, Tyko. And so, here I am to assist you in your search. It's
the least I can do. Family obligations and all that. Besides, those droids back
on Mechis III know how to run the show. And if they don't do it properly I can
always dismantle them."
"Indeed!" Em Teedee said in a huff. "The very ideal" "Actually, we were
about to leave," Jaina said. "We've pretty much found what we were looking for
here."
Tyko's cheeks grew pink and he sputtered.
"Why, you can't--I-I've only just arrived. You must allow me to set my mind
at rest. Help me look for my brother-please, just for today," he urged. "Have
you found any dues whatsoever?"
"Yes. Actually, though," Jacen spoke up, gesturing toward the chocolate-
furred Wookiee, "this is Raabakyysh of Kashyyyk.
She's a good friend of Lowie's, and she has a bit more searching to do
here. Lowie volunteered to help her, didn't you, Lowie?"
Lowie gave a tentative growl of agreement.
Tyko darted a dismissive glance at the two Wookiees. "Splendid, splendid,"
he said. "It's settled then. We'll spend the day investigating. Shall we eat
first? What may I offer you?"
After a sumptuous meal the party split up for one last exploration of the
crater and the rim surrounding it. Lowie accompanied Raaba.
The two Wookies left together, and Tyko bustled around after Jacen, Jaina,
and Tenel Ka, looking busy and interested, though he frequently glanced at his
wrist-chronometer. They showed him the tattered sash they had found, along with
its dire warning, and told him about the meeting, perhaps with a scavenger named
Fonterrat.
Otherwise, the day was spent in what proved ultimately to be a fruitless
search.
As they gathered for evening meal, however, Tyko Thul seemed satisfied with
their efforts. "My only regret is that I still have no idea what kind of shady
scheme my brother's gotten himself involved in," he said. "Oh well, it was worth
the attempt to look around here. Now I can rest easy."
Jacen felt unaccountably protective of Raynar in the young man's absence.
"Ray-nar believed that his father was completely honorable," he objected. "How
can you'be so sure he's gotten himself involved in a shady scheme? We don't
really have any evidence of that."
Tyko favored him with a condescending smile. "My dear boy, of course
Bornan's involved in something shady. Why else would he make an appointment with
that rabble-rousing firebrand Nolaa Tarkona and then simply disappear? I can't
believe he'd even associate with such a despicable troublemaker as that Twi'lek
woman. Then again, he's always had bad judgment in selecting business
associates, and Tarkona is one of the worst."
Raaba sat up.straight at Tyko's comment about Nolaa Tarkona. Her fur
bristled, and a growl rumbled deep in her throat.
"No, no, I know my brother," Tyko went on, ignoring the Wookiee.
"You mark my words. He's gotten himself into trouble because of the people,
or the things, with whom he associates."
Angrily, Raaba stood and stalked away into the darkness. Lowie quickly
followed her, and Jacen could hear them in the distance, conversing in strained
tones. Oblivious to the angry reactions his insults had inspired, Tyko continued
talking as if nothing had happened,' though Jacen didn't hear a word he said.
Only moments later, with a whine of repulsorjets, Raaba's interstellar
skimmer streaked off into the night, vanishing among the stars above.
When Lowie returned to the group, silent and dispirited, Tyko simply
shrugged.
"A bit hotheaded, isn't she?" he remarked, then dug back into the food
packets. "Now, what may I offer you to eat?"
LATER ON, AS the night hung dark around them, Jacen looked up into a sky
bristling with sharp pinpoints of stars. The broad band of the galaxy's
midsection stretched overhead like a pearly river.
He felt the weight of thousands of years of unchronicled history seeping
out of Kuar's ruins, ancient mysteries trying to tell their stories. At their
isolated encampment, the tiny crackling fire did little more than emphasize the
deep blackness of space lurking overhead.
Jacen could barely even see the blocky outlines of the crumbling buildings
in the rains below. Just last night, camping out had seemed fun, despite the
adventures that had shown the young Jedi Knights all too dearly what dangers
lurked inside the abandoned structures.
Tonight, however, an ominous feeling hung in the air.
Lowbacca sat alone, quietly moaning to himself as he touched the graft
bandage that covered the wound on his ribs. But Jacen knew the Wookiee's greater
pain came from the deep sadness of losing Raaba again. She had disappeared,
taken off in her ship--just as she had done before... At least this time Lowie
didn't believe that the young Wookiee woman had been devoured by a carnivorous
syren plant.
Raaba was alive but she was still gone.
Before going to bed, Lowie had told Jacen that Raaba had promised to find
him again... someday. Jacen hoped it would be soon. He felt the deep pain and
grief emanating from his Wookiee friend.
Despite the companions' invitation, Tyko Thul had insisted on sleeping
inside his own ship. As he left the others, he was clearly in high spirits. He
was delighted to have found some inkling of Bornan Thul though why Raynar's
father had come to this isolated place to meet with some scavenger, he could not
understand...
Tenel Ka had quickly fallen asleep, using her warrior skills to snatch a
moment of rest, storing her energy for whenever she might need it. Jacen could
tell by the placement of her supple body, the ever-present tenseness in her
limbs, and the rippling muscles beneath her smooth skin that the warrior girl
was staying on the edge of full alertness. With only a moment's warning, Tenel
Ka would be wide awake again and ready for battle.
Jaina sat next to her twin brother. They both remained silent, comfortable
with each other. The glow of the fading campfire splashed around them. Jaina
tucked a strand of straight brown hair behind her ear and blew out a long sigh.
Jacen looked into the sky, watching a brief but intense shower
of shooting
stars.
"Look at that he said,' pointing. "It's a meteor storm."
Jaina nodded. "That happens when a planet's orbit crosses the path of an
old comet. The leftover debris burns up in the atmosphere, making all those
shooting stars." But then she stiffened, squinting as she stared upward. "Wait!
Those aren't shooting stars."
The blazing meteors fell in a perfectly choreographed sequence of parabolic
arcs, growing brighter, streaking down across the sky as if under some sort of
propulsion system. They left glowing trails in their high-speed descent; sharp
deceleration through the atmosphere caused their hulls to glow bright red.
"Those are ships coming in for a landing!"
As soon as Jaina raised her voice to say the words, Tenel Ka snapped out of
her slumber. She sprang up from the ground, instinctively landing in her
fighting stance.
The brilliant, uninvited ships screamed overhead with shock waves of sonic
booms so loud they nearly deafened Jacen.
Jaina covered her ears. Lowie roared in frustration. Jacen wondered if
perhaps the ships might be Raabakyysh returning with her friends. These vessels
were sleek war-craft, though, heavily armed.
The pilots appeared to be in attack formation and did not seem interested
in making any compromises.
Uncle Tyko scuttled out of his brass-colored ship, shaking his head and
blinking his bleary eyes. "What is it? Who is it?" he spluttered, looking up
into the sky as the dazzling ships whirled about in long thundering arcs and
came around for a second pass. The warcraft streaked back toward the tiny
encampment in an assault pattern.
"We are under attack," Tenel Ka said.
As if on cue, heavy blaster fire lanced out to explode in bright puffs when
the ships howled past. Blaster bolts gouged molten craters in the ground and set
some of the ancient buildings in the crater on fire.
The last two ships in the squadron came in with more specific targets. One
blast showered sparks from the starboard engine of the Rock Dragon, turning the
hull plating to slag and ruining one of the passenger cruiser's stardrives. "No!
" Jaina cried, helpless to stop
The second attack was far worse, though.
'With precise targeting from full-powered blasters, the assault ship
pummeled Uncle Tyko's transport, bombarding the tarnished-brass ship with
irresistible energy until the craft exploded. A long plume of debris and flames
spewed from the ruptured fuel pods.
"My ship? Uncle Tyko wailed. "How am I going to get home now?"
Jaina grabbed his fleshy arm and pulled him along as Jacen sprinted beside
her.
"Let's worry about surviving this night first, okay?" Jacen said.
"Besides, my sister can fix just about anything."
"Don't get your hopes up," Jaina said, looking back over her shoulder at
the flaming mound of debris.
Lowie charged up to join them as they ran for cover, avoiding the
smoldering Rock Dragon just in case it became another primary target.
They all ran toward the ramps that descended into the abandoned stadium,
hoping to find shelter there.
The warships decelerated, hovering over the encampment. In midair they
disgorged silvery armored figures, not quite humanoid, that leaped out of the
craft to drop from a height much greater than any human could have survived.
"Are those armored soldiers?" Jacen asked, "Space-troopers in full droid
armor?"
"No," Jaina said, "not men in combat armor... I think they're droids--
assassin droids!"
"That means real trouble," Uncle Tyko said. "Run into these tunnels! The
droids will have heat-seeking optical sensors to help them locate us, but we
need to stay ahead of them any way we can. Move!"
Five of the powerful assassin droids landed on the ground with clanking
thuds, their armored legs spread apart, their mechanical arms drawn up in
perfect balance.
Like automaton soldiers, they engaged their myriad weapons systems and
marched forward, led by one droid that towered above all the others... It was
also much more menacing.
"In here!" Uncle Tyko said, ducking low as he ran through an archway into a
crumbling mazelike structure.
Jacen hoped that no vicious nocturnal predators lay inside the shadowy
catacombs.
Their group could only handle one invincible enemy at a time.
They had no choice but to run blindly into the dark.
The squad of assassin droids stopped outside the maze entrance, lined up in
ranks, then raised their weapon arms without even bothering to come inside the
ruins. The droids fired from where they stood, blasting the exterior walls of
the ancient structure. Explosions knocked down columns and support braces.
Crumbling stones fell apart in clouds of choking dust.
"Oh, my!" Em Teedee cried. "What are we to do?"
"Run," Jaina said. "We're going to run."
The squad of assassin droids lowered their weapons and assessed the
destruction blazing around them. Then they marched forward in lockstep over the
rubble they had just created.
The tallest machine took the lead. His head was long and cylindrical,
studded with flashing red optical sensors. The powerful droid moved with
mechanical grace, each step an implacable advance toward its target.
"Oh, no--I recognize that one," Uncle Tyko said. "It's IG-88--the worst of
all the assassin droid bounty hunters! He has some sentience programming and
obeys no human orders. We're done for!"
"Indeed?" Em Teedee said. "Quite fascinating.
According to my files, IG-88 disappeared long ago, about the time of the
Emperor's death. He hasn't been seen since."
"Gee, how'd we get so lucky then?" Jacen said. "Too bad he couldn't just
have stayed hidden for a little while longer."
"If IG-88 is leading this group of assassin droids, then they won't give up
easily," Jaina said.
"This is a fact," Tenel Ka answered.
"Even worse assassin droids rarely miss when they fire their weapons."
The companions dashed deeper into the shadows away from the fallen pillars
and walls, searching for a place to hide. The assassin droids marched after
them, weapons loaded and drawn, continuing their relentless pursuit.
RUNNING INSIDE THE shadowy tunnels, ducking to avoid low-hanging support
beams, Jacen found a passageway that led farther downward. He saw fallen debris
cluttering the ramp, but the passage seemed to open into a larger chamber
underneath, which might offer them a place to hide or at least to fight.
"This way!" he said, and ran headlong down the sloping passageway.
Hearing Jacen's voice, the assassin droids opened fire again and blasted
holes in the ancient walls. Tyko Thul needed no further encouragement and
scrambled after Jacen.
Jaina, Tenel Ka, and Lowie followed, trying to keep up without running into
each other.
They reached the bottom of the ramp, and the midnight darkness of the
catacombs became thicker and oilier. The blackness lacked even the faint respite
of stars twinkling far overhead. The sluggish air smelled thick and damp,
of years. Clouds of dust stirred under their feet as they rushed ahead.
"This is as bad as the spice mines of Kessel," Jacen muttered.
Lowie scraped his ginger-furred head on an overhanging marble archway;
Jaina stumbled on the uneven floor. Grumbling in vexation, she pulled out her
lightsaber.
"I can't see where I'm going!"
Jacen was about to warn his sister not to create so much light, but Jaina
ignited the weapon, instantly flooding the surrounding chambers with dazzling
electric violet brilliance. She glanced over at her brother and raised her
eyebrows. "Those assassin droids can see in the dark anyway--we're the only ones
who were blinded. No sense making it worse for ourselves."
The companions rushed onward. By the crackling light of his sisters energy
sword, Jacen could see that they had entered a broad chamber buried below one of
the ancient structures in the crater wall.
Portions of the ceiling had fallen all around, but this underground chamber
seemed to have many exits, low tunnels that could be hidden lairs for strange,
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