Jedi Search

by Kevin J. Anderson

  of me--or at least used to having me around--but it went on for more than a

  year! I couldn't sleep, I jumped at shadows. I was a wreck, and that made

  her feel sorry for me ... so she clung even tighter!

  "And I couldn't leave! On Dargul they mate for life. Life! She'll never give

  up searching, and she'll never take another mate as long as I live." Tymmo

  looked as if a scream hovered on his lips. "I'll never be free of her! I had

  to escape."

  "Well, it looks like you've finally found a way out," Slish Fondine said in

  an angry voice. "As an admitted scam artist, you'll be promptly executed

  under the laws of Umgul."

  To Lando's surprise Tymmo didn't even try to defend himself. He seemed

  resigned to his fate.

  But Lando wasn't so sure about the idea. "Let's think about this a minute,

  Mr. Fondine. Did you say there's a million-credit reward for his safe return

  to the duchess, Artoo?"

  Artoo chirped an affirmative.

  "Now, Mr. Fondine, think of what a wonderful gift of state this would be for

  the upcoming visit of the duchess, returning her consort in time to ease her

  loneliness."

  Tymmo groaned in misery.

  "On the other hand, if you were to execute him, knowing he is her missing

  consort, things could get very unpleasant between Umgul and your sister

  planet. Might even be cause for war."

  Fondine's face darkened with the possibilities, but his honor had been so

  offended that the choice was not clear to him. He sighed. "We will leave it

  up to the prisoner himself. Tymmo, or Dack, or whatever your name is--do you

  wish to be executed or returned to the Duchess Mistal?"

  Tymmo swallowed hard. "How long do I have to think about it?"

  "It's not a trick question!" Lando said.

  Tymmo sighed. "Can I at least be allowed to rest until she gets here? I'm

  going to need all my strength."

  The Lady Luck cruised out of the huge grotto of Umgul's spaceport, rising

  above the mists into the sky. Slish Fondine had insisted, out of fairness,

  that he would transfer half of the duchess's reward into Lando's account

  when she arrived.

  No longer penniless, Lando would have seed money to invest in some new

  operation, some other scheme that could excite him. He had tried the molten

  metal mines on Nkllon, and the Tibanna gas mines on Bespin. He wondered what

  he might find next.

  Though he had tried his best to track down a worthy candidate for Luke's

  Jedi academy, he hated to return empty-handed to Coruscant. But he knew

  there would be others.

  Threepio remained uncharacteristically silent as the Lady Luck burst into

  hyperspace, heading home.

  Images of starships whirled through space like pinpoints of fire around

  Coruscant. The holographic map of the system showed the locations of all

  vessels in range and plotted approved approach orbits on a huge spherical

  grid. Data terminals spewed information on vessel sizes and landing

  requirements, keeping track of anyone reporting impaired control. A

  scattering of red danger zones marked debris clouds of wrecked ships that

  had not yet been removed from the battle over Coruscant.

  Dozens of space-traffic controllers stood at their stations around the 3-D

  map of the planet, pointing at images with light pens and drawing

  safe-approach vectors or prioritizing landing patterns. One of the

  war-damaged spaceports on the western end of Imperial City had just been

  brought back on-line in the last week, and much of the shuttle traffic was

  being rerouted there to ease the burden on landing platforms around the

  Imperial Palace.

  Leia Organa Solo stood beside one of the traffic controllers. Seeing how

  busy the woman was directing space traffic, Leia tried not to ask too many

  questions, but she found it difficult to wait.

  "There's something." The traffic controller reached up with the light pen to

  indicate a squarish violet icon used for Small Starship--Type Unknown.

  "Could that be the one you're waiting for, Minister Organa Solo? Just popped

  out of hyperspace. Unable to determine previous vector."

  Leia felt a surge of excitement. "Yes, that's the one. Have they requested

  clearance yet?"

  The traffic controller touched a receiver implant at her temple. "Coming in

  now. The pilot sends only her name. Sounds like some kind of code. Winter?"

  Leia smiled. "No, that's her real name. Give her clearance to land on the

  top northside platform of the Imperial Palace, my authorization." She drew

  in a deep breath, feeling her heart pound faster. "I'll go meet her

  personally." She turned and took two quick steps away before she remembered

  to thank the traffic controller for her help. "Come on, Threepio," Leia said

  as she bustled past him.

  The protocol droid snapped to attention, then hurried after her with his

  stiff-legged gait. He had returned to Coruscant with Artoo and Lando three

  days earlier and spent four hours in a luxurious lubricant-and-scrubber

  bath. Now he gleamed like new, with all traces of blob mucus removed from

  his finish.

  Leia heard Threepio's motivators humming as he followed. She ignored him,

  lost in her own conflicting thoughts. Han should have been back from Kessel

  two days ago, but still she had heard no word from him. He'd probably fallen

  in with some of his old smuggling buddies, had too much to drink, gambled

  far into the late hours, and completely forgotten about his other

  obligations. It was a good thing Chewbacca had sworn a blood oath to protect

  him, because Han was going to have to face her when he got back, and he was

  going to need a Wookiee's protection. How dare he forget something like

  this?

  For now, Leia would welcome her twin children home. Alone.

  Standing on the top deck of the palace, Leia craned her neck and searched

  the hazy skies. Coruscant's aurora shimmered through the twilight, eclipsed

  by the complex matrix of the great orbiting shipyards.

  "Threepio, tell me the minute you see them coming." The breeze tossed loose

  strands of hair in front of her eyes.

  "Yes, Mistress Leia. I'm searching." In an imitation of a human gesture,

  Threepio cupped two golden hands around his optical sensors as if it would

  help him focus better. "Don't you think it would be wiser for us to step

  back slightly from the edge?"

  Leia held her breath. Her children were coming home. They had not set foot

  on Coruscant for nearly two years, but now they would be back to stay. She

  could be a real mother to them, at last.

  Just after their birth the twins had been sequestered on a secret planet

  uncovered by Luke and Admiral Ackbar. It was a world unrecorded on any

  chart, but habitable and protected. Luke and Ackbar had established a

  heavily guarded base there, leaving Leia's trusted servant Winter behind to

  watch over the Jedi children.

  She suspected Luke had given the children a bit more than just Winter for

  protection, though.

  During their protective isolation Leia had managed to visit Jacen, Jaina,

  and Anakin every few months, usually with Han in tow. At a prearranged time

 
Winter would pop out of hyperspace in a long-distance shuttle. Without ever

  knowing their destination, Leia and Han would climb aboard the shuttle, be

  sealed in the back passenger compartment, and Winter would take them to the

  protected planet. The New Republic Senate was appalled at Leia's mysterious

  movements, but Luke and Ackbar had silenced their objections.

  Leia hoped she would be able to find the time to visit her baby boy, little

  Anakin, now that she had the twins to watch over. It would be a tragedy if

  she had to be even less of a mother to the baby than she had been to these

  two.

  "There it is, Mistress Leia!" Threepio pointed up at a flickering point of

  light that grew brighter every second. "A shuttle is coming down."

  She felt a spasm of anxiety mixed with a thrill of excitement.

  The shuttle approached, winking red and green lights in the twilight sky. It

  circled the former Imperial Palace, then activated its repulsorlifts to come

  down with a gentle sigh on the landing platform. Angular and bug-like, the

  shuttle bore no markings, no indication of its planet of origin.

  With a hiss of equalizing pressure, the hatch of the shuttle's passenger

  compartment split open, gently extending a ramp. Leia bit her lip and took a

  step forward, squinting into the sharp shadows. The shuttle blocked most of

  the breeze, leaving the area still and silent.

  The young twins stepped out side by side and waited at the top of the ramp.

  Leia stared at Jacen and Jaina, both self-composed and dark-haired, with

  wide avid eyes and small faces that looked like the ghosts of Han and Leia.

  After a second's hesitation Leia ran up the ramp, gathering the children in

  her arms. Both Jacen and Jaina hugged their mother. "Welcome home!" she

  said, whispering.

  She sensed fear and reservation in them; Leia realized with a pang that she

  was a virtual stranger to them. Winter had been their nanny for as long as

  they could remember. Leia had been just a visitor whenever she could find

  time in her duties. But she would make it up to them. She promised herself

  that much.

  All the outstanding obligations rose up in her mind, haunting her with the

  specter of duty. She still had to deal with the Caridan ambassador and a

  thousand other delicate tasks to hold the New Republic together. Dozens of

  planetary systems were on the verge of joining the Republic if a skilled

  representative--Leia herself--showed good faith by making a visit of state.

  If Mon Mothma summoned Leia to help ratify a treaty, or to take her place at

  a state dinner, how could Leia refuse? The fate of the galaxy hung in the

  balance, clearly dependent on what she did.

  How could mere children take precedence over that? And what kind of a mother

  did it make her even to think about it?

  "Where's Daddy?" Jacen asked.

  Anger went through Leia like a spear of ice. "He's not here right now."

  Winter finally worked her way back from the pilot compartment. Leia looked

  up at her friend and confidante, and warm memories washed over her.

  Winter had had snow-white hair for as long as Leia could remember, a serene

  face that rarely allowed even a twinge of anger to show through. Noticing

  Han's absence, Winter raised her eyebrows, filling her face with questions,

  but she remained silent.

  "Where's baby Anakin?" Jaina asked.

  "He has to stay with me for a while longer," Winter said, nudging the two

  children down the ramp. "Come, now, we'll take you to your new home."

  The two children dutifully marched ahead, with Leia following close beside

  them. Threepio didn't seem to know what he was expected to do during the

  reunion, so he just followed, waving his arms and making flustered

  exclamations.

  "How long we stay here?" Jacen asked.

  "Where's our room?" Jaina said.

  Leia smiled at the questions and took a deep breath before answering them.

  From now on she had a feeling she would be hearing a lot of questions.

  When Leia finally kissed the twins good night, Threepio couldn't decide

  whether mother or twins looked more exhausted. Leia pushed loose dark hair

  away from her eyes as she stood at the doorway to their room and blew

  another kiss.

  After adjusting his servomotors to allow a little more flexibility in his

  joints, Threepio hunkered down between the twins' beds. He had already taken

  care of important details such as providing fresh cups of water for the

  children and installing small night-lights in the dark corners.

  "You two be good for Threepio," Leia said. "He'll stay here until you go to

  sleep. You've had exciting things happen today, and we'll do a lot more

  tomorrow. I'm so glad to have you back." Leia flashed a heartfelt smile at

  them, showing joy even through the weariness on her face.

  "I'm certain I can handle this, Mistress Leia," Threepio said. "I have

  reviewed most of the available child psychology databases, except for those

  recommended by the Emperor, of course."

  Leia's answering look seemed to carry a bit of skepticism, which puzzled

  Threepio.

  "Don't wanna go sleep," Jacen said, sitting up in bed.

  Leia still smiled. "But you need your rest. Maybe Threepio will tell you a

  bedtime story if you're good." She waved once more, then faded back into the

  main living area.

  The children had indeed had a busy day. After their journey with Winter they

  had been taken on a quick tour of the Imperial Palace, then shown their new

  quarters. Even with her duties as Minister of State, Leia had managed to

  redecorate the twins' bedchamber in warm, soothing colors.

  Threepio would have offered his own assistance in the project, but at the

  time he had been with Lando Calrissian at the blob races. Thinking back,

  Threepio would have preferred the decorating chores.

  Several times during the tour Leia was interrupted by insistent calls,

  documents that needed to be authorized, brief conversations that could not

  be delayed. Each time Leia looked guilty, as if realizing this was an

  indication of things to come.

  The twins, though filled with excitement and wonder of the new things around

  them, grew cranky as they became tired. They had been overwhelmed by too

  much strangeness in one day, given a new home, and told to sleep in an

  unfamiliar room. According to the information Threepio had recently

  uploaded, it was perfectly normal for the children to cause minor

  difficulties.

  "Don't wanna bedtime story," Jacen said, crossing his small hands over his

  chest and looking defiantly at Threepio.

  "No story," Jaina echoed.

  "Of course you do," Threepio insisted. "I have scoured the collected works

  of children's literature on thousands of planetary systems. I have selected

  what I believe will be a truly enjoyable story. It is called The Little Lost

  Bantha Cub, a classic that has been popular for generations with children of

  your age."

  He had been looking forward to telling this story, recalling how much he had

  enjoyed telling the Ewoks of his adventures with Master Luke and Captain

  Solo. He had even selected some very exciting sound effects for approp
riate

  points in the Bantha Cub story. Threepio had never actually been close to a

  live bantha during his time on Tatooine, but bantha riders--the Tusken

  Raiders--had dismantled him during their first attack on Master Luke. He

  supposed that gave him some small claim to expertise.

  "Don't wanna story!" Jacen repeated. Both children had unruly dark hair, and

  the deep brown eyes of their mother. Right now the young boy had a

  determined and stubborn look on his face that Threepio had often seen on Han

  Solo.

  Threepio realized that the issue at hand had very little to do with the

  actual story. According to his new information on young children, the twins

  were right now feeling displaced and helpless. With so many things out of

  their control, they needed to exert their power, to insist on some tiny spot

  of stability. Jacen needed to see that he could have some effect on his

  surroundings. Right now the boy was very upset; Jaina, picking up on her

  brother's distress, seemed on the verge of tears.

  "Very well, young Master Jacen. I will tell you the story some other time."

  Threepio knew just the trick to keep the twins happy and let them drift off

  to sleep. He was, after all, fluent in over six million forms of

  communication. He could sing lullabyes in any number of languages, any

  number of styles.

  He selected a few that were guaranteed to please the twins. Jacen and Jaina