Under A Black Sun Trilogy

by Kevin J. Anderson

  booby-trapped mines on Anobis." She shuddered at the thought of the

  decades-long civil war between the miners of her mountain village and

  the farmers in the valleys. "Go ahead without me, if you want. I'm

  heading back to my room. I'll see you all at evening meal."

  "Okay," Jacen said doubtfully. "I'm sure we won't be long. We'll see

  you later."

  With that, he, Tenel Ka, Lowie, and Em Teedee hurried up the corridor

  to the trapdoor the Ugnaught had used. In less than a minute they had

  disappeared into the floor, following him.

  Anja breathed a sigh of relief when they were gone. Why was it that

  being among these young Jedi brought up such conflicting emotions

  within her? She walked down another hallway in the direction of her

  room as fast as her legs would go.

  She felt an overwhelming urge to take some andris. She needed it.

  She had assured her friends that she wasn't addicted to the spice, but

  she knew without a doubt that her need for it right now could not be

  ignored.

  he stepped into a turbolift and slumped against its rounded wall.

  The door slid shut behind her and she noticed that her hands were

  shaking. Was she addicted? she wondered. As the turbolift shot

  upward, she shrugged off the idea.

  No, it was only natural, given the circumstances, the tension, her near

  fall from the tree, that she might need a small extra boost. A light

  sweat broke out on her forehead and her vision blurred for a moment,

  then cleared. The instant the turbolift door opened, she dashed down

  the hallway toward her quarters, burst through the door, and scrambled

  over to the satchel that held her belongings.

  Not wanting to waste time searching, she dumped the contents

  unceremoniously onto the sleeping pad and grabbed for the little black

  box that held her precious andris. Her trembling fingers fumbled with

  the catch and she withdrew one of the insulation-wrapped packets. She

  ripped away the covering that kept the vial chilled and in the process

  dropped the container into her pile of clothes.

  She was panting now and close to tears. She recited half a dozen

  choice curses that she had never spoken in front of the young Jedi

  Knights as she rummaged again for the small vial among her

  belongings.

  There. There it was.

  Anja had no memory of the intervening few minutes in which she opened

  the vial and took the spice. The next thing she knew, she felt energy

  coursing through her body. Her vision was clear and acute, her mind

  alert, her doubts gone.

  Yes, now she could think clearly. She didn't have to have andris.

  She could give it up anytime she wanted, of course.

  But she didn't want to. It made her feel so much better.

  "Wow. I had no idea all these tunnels were even down here," Jacen

  said, gazing at the maze of passages that stretched in all directions

  beneath the entertainment complex. He kept his voice low in case the

  Ugnaught they were following was somehow still within hearing range.

  The warrens were dimly lit, and just barely tall enough for Jacen to

  stand up in. Lowie, however, had to stoop to move around.

  "Em Teedee, would you please give us a little extra light?" Jacen

  murmured. "But not too much-we don't want to be seen."

  "Certainly, Master Jacen," Em Teedee said in a loud whisper. "I should

  be delighted to be of service." He bobbed up to the top of the tunnel

  and directed the light from his optical sensors down toward the floor

  of the passage. "But however are you going to locate that Ugnaught

  now?"

  "We must use the Force," Tenel Ka said. "He cannot have gone far."

  As if to prove her point, Lowie suddenly woofed and pointed to a side

  corridor about ten meters away.

  "Right. I sense it too," Jacen said, thinking of the seedier areas

  deep within Cloud City. "He must be heading to lower levels, probably

  Port Town. Let's go."

  Em Teedee stopped. "Just a moment, Master Jacen. Dear me! Although I

  realize I'm not endowed with the Force, I was attempting to reach out

  with all my sensors, and I believe I've just intercepted a comm

  transmission originating from somewhere extremely close by. The words

  were in Ugnaught dialogue-with which I am of course quite familiar,

  being fluent in over sixteen forms of communication-" Lowie growled and

  tapped the floating droid with one finger, as if to remind him that

  they were in a hurry.

  "Ah. Aha. What did the communication say?" Tenel Ka asked.

  "Yes, of course, I was coming to that. It was something to this

  effect: Retrieved the spice. Deal is back on. Meet outside tunnel 83,

  section 11. Bring hard credits only."

  Jacen, Tenel Ka, and Lowie exchanged concerned glances. Jacen gave a

  low whistle. "A drug deal, then. For hard cash?"

  Tenel Ka quirked an eyebrow at him. "So it would appear."

  Lowie gave a thoughtful growl.

  "Right," Jacen said. "If that's not suspicious, I don't know what

  is."

  "I sense him moving away," Tenel Ka warned.

  "Let's stay with the Ugnaught then," Jacen said, moving up the tunnel

  and toward the side passageway. "I've got a stronger feeling than ever

  that this guy knows something about Cojahn's death."

  As they followed the Ugnaught through convoluted catacombs to the

  lower, darker levels of Cloud City, Jacen wondered if the creature had

  any idea where he was going.

  "I think this guy's lost," he muttered quietly to Tenel Ka.

  Lowie groaned softly, and Em Teedee translated as the little droid

  bobbed in front of them on his microrepulsorjets. "We must be quiet.

  Stealth is of utmost importance."

  After passing through the cluttered, seedier levels of Port Townthe

  "bad part" of Cloud City-Jacen and his friends needed to use their Jedi

  skills to the fullest just to keep track of their quarry. They hurried

  through dimly lit sectors, ducked around junked equipment and debris

  that had been waiting for centuries to be hauled away and sorted into

  one of the scrap incinerators.

  Each time they thought they had lost the Ugnaught, they managed to

  glimpse his patchy-furred head once again, just as they were about to

  give up hope. If the former foreman knew he was being followed, he

  certainly made no attempt to elude or avoid them.

  After they hurried past a group of Ishi Tibs huddled in a corner

  placing bets on some sort of combat insects, they saw the small apelike

  creature turn sharply to the left.

  "Where did he go?" Jacen asked.

  Lowie grunted, extending a tuffed arm to point at a small chute

  opening. Without hesitation, Tenel Ka sprinted ahead and scrambled

  into the chute. Jacen and Lowbacca followed. "Oh, my!" Em Teedee

  said. "Are you certain these passages are safe enough to use for

  transportation?"

  "The Ugnaughts use them," Tenel Ka said. "They live in these tunnel

  warrens."

  As they proceeded, the light around them grew red and warm. Lowie

  sniffed, using his Wookiee nose to follow the scent. They ducked low

  and took shortcuts through passageway
s that seemed no larger than air

  shafts. Em Teedee hovered next to the big ginger-furred Wookiee, who

  had considerable difficulty fitting into the cramped spaces while

  remaining quiet and secretive. Somehow, they managed to stay on the

  Ugnaught's trail as he led them deeper and deeper into Cloud City's

  interior.

  Jacen mentally reviewed what he knew about the Ugnaughts and their

  culture, how they had come here as slave creatures for a rich and

  eccentric developer named Ecclessis Figg. Lord Figg had promised them

  their freedom if they would help him to complete his impossible dream

  of building a city in the clouds.

  Now, Ugnaughts were among the most respected inhabitants of the huge

  metropolis in Bespin's skies. The creatures filled important positions

  in all strata of society, from city politicians and bureaucrats to

  salvage engineers on the hot conveyor lines.

  This Ugnaught had been an engineer, the chief construction foreman on

  SkyCenter Galleria, before Cojahn had fired him for "certain

  irregularities." So what had he been doing back at the amusement

  facility?

  And where was he going now?

  The Ugnaught scuttled along without a backward glance, seemingly

  without noticing the young Jedi Knights following him. In the cramped

  tunnels and halls they heard few other creatures moving around, just

  the throbbing sounds of machinery and equipment deep in the Tibanna gas

  processing levels of the giant city.

  A tingle of fear skittered up and down Jacen's spine. Tenel Ka touched

  his arm and he could feel the tension rippling through her as well.

  "Something is not right," she said.

  "I know it," he answered, frowning. He knew they had been quiet, using

  their Jedi skills, but in such an uninhabited area, he found it hard to

  believe that the Ugnaught ahead didn't suspect their presence.

  The furry creature popped down another dropshaft, and Jacen, Tenel Ka,

  and Lowie hurried so they wouldn't lose sight of him. "I wish I knew

  where he was going," Jacen muttered. "This is like a scaredmynock

  chase."

  At the bottom of the shaft they emerged into a large storage area, and

  Jacen immediately sensed the danger. The large chamber was silent,

  muffled with shadows; they saw no sign of their quarry whatsoever,

  though he had dropped into this room only seconds ago.

  The three companions stood together, stock still in the shadows.

  Jacen glanced around, his Jedi senses at the peak of alertness. He saw

  no movement. A shroud of deathly quiet hung around them. It was too

  quiet.

  Lowie snuffled, trying to detect scents in the musty air. Each breath

  echoed in the enclosed storage room. Em Teedee's golden optical

  sensors glowed in the dimness as he floated above them, unconsciously

  marking their position.

  Tenel Ka pressed closer to Jacen, her back against his. The contact

  sent a tingle through his senses, though he would have enjoyed it more

  had they not been in such a tense situation.

  Lowie growled deep in his throat. The Wookiee formed no actual words,

  but the miniaturized translating droid relayed the meaning anyway.

  "Master Lowbacca believes the Ugnaught has led us into a trap."

  Just as Jacen's hand twitched toward the lightsaber at his waist, all

  the room's glowpanels flashed on, dazzling their eyes with the burst of

  light. Blinking furiously in an attempt to focus, Jacen saw only

  blocky shadows, stacked crates, and hunks of decommissioned machinery

  wrapped in transparent sheeting.

  A moment later seven burly, murderous-looking creatures stepped

  forward, a mix of races: some human, some craggy-faced brutes. One

  glistening alien dripped blue slime in tiny puddles onto the floor

  plates.

  The seven were armed with blasters, grenade launchers, and various

  long-distance weapons-and each of them looked mean and scarred and

  intent on mayhem.

  An icicle of dread slid down Jacen's back. Even three Jedi Knights

  would not be able to resist a combined attack from these hired

  killers.

  "Don't move," snarled the slime-dripping alien. Weapons came up and

  took aim, holding them at bay.

  A broad-shouldered human with a hairy face from eyebrows to chin

  growled in a wet, phlegmy voice, "Are these the ones?" One side of his

  face appeared to have been eaten away by acid.

  The seven thugs pulled out images printed on evaporating flimiplast.

  The patchy-furred Ugnaught scurried out from his hiding place behind a

  rusty disconnected pumping generator. He chittered and squealed,

  pointing vigorously at them.

  "Yeah, I know they were following you. Good job," the hairyfaced man

  gargled. "But this is only half the number we're supposed to kill.

  Where are the rest-the Lando guy and the other kids?"

  The Ugnaught squealed something. Em Teedee said, "Shall I translate

  what the Ugnaught has just explained?"

  "No," Tenel Ka said quickly.

  The Wookiee roared, and Jacen nodded. "I agree, Lowie-if we can't

  fight them, we'd better turn around and run!"

  The thugs shouted in surprise and fired off scattered blaster shots as

  Jacen, Lowie, and Tenel Ka bolted toward the nearest exit door. Their

  feet clanging on the metal decks of the lower levels in Port Town, the

  young Jedi Knights dashed out of the room, sprinting ahead as fast as

  they could go. Jacen swung around metal-walled corners, his sweaty

  hands squeaking on grimy durasteel plates as he grabbed them for

  balance.

  . Lowie banged his head on the low ceiling and yowled in pain, but kept

  charging ahead. Em Teedee sputtered along, doing his best to keep

  up.

  "Wait for me!"

  The suspicious Ugnaught had led them into a trap. They had blundered

  into it in spite of sensing warnings through the Force. But what

  chilled Jacen most was knowing that he and his friends had already been

  marked as targets. These assassins, carrying images of Lando and the

  young Jedi Knights, apparently had orders to kill all of them. He had

  seen a glimpse of his own face on the printed flimiplast, a contract

  for their deaths.

  The surly bunch behind them bellowed, firing their blasters

  recklessly.

  Apparently they had no training in teamwork, though. The scaring

  energy bolts bounced off the reflective walls, skittering like molten

  cannonballs down the passageways.

  Ahead, Jacen saw an opening in the floor that dropped into a wide air

  shaft. He leapt down it and the others followed, bouncing and jolting

  against the slick metal walls until they shot out into an open bay

  where cold steam hissed upward. Tubes dangled like tentacles from

  overhead supports. They landed on a rickety catwalk, and Jacen grabbed

  the railing to reassert his balance. Amber light burned from

  mini-glows hidden in pipes, conduits, and pressure-release valves.

  Beside Jacen, Lowbacca reached out to grab a horizontal dangling chain

  overhead. Using his powerful Wookiee muscles, he hauled himself across

  it hand-overhand until he reached a lower platform
on a solid catwalk,

  then swung a chain back down to his friends so that Tenel Ka and Jacen

  could each swing over to him. Em Teedee flew across by himself.

  The lift-shaft door opened with a hiss. A blocky, gray-skinned man and

  the slime-dripping alien lunged into the industrial chamber,

  immediately spotting their prey. More blaster fire rang out. One bolt

  breached a lubricant-containment vessel, cracking open its outer

  shell.

  Slick greenish-blue liquid spilled onto the floor, turned smoky, and

  slowly began to burn. The two hitmen growled and coughed, waving the

  curling, noxious smoke away from their faces. More blue slime dripped

  from the messy alien.

  "This is no place to camp out," Jacen said. "How about we try

  somewhere else?"

  They ran along the catwalk and scrambled down a set of metal ladders

  rung by rung until they reached an even lower level, then scurried

  across a dirt-stained floor.

  "Where is everybody?" Jacen said. "Is this section of Cloud City

  off-limits, or what?"

  "Perhaps today it is." Tenel Ka, barely even breathing hard, stopped

  next to him. "I believe they moved all workers out of this area.

  They wished to keep the field clear for their hunt."

  "You mean they planned this that much ahead?" Jacen said.